


Unexpected To Say The Least

by AHeartForStories



Series: Unexpected To Say The Least [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Breastfeeding, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Whump, Family, Fluff, Found Family, Implied Relationships, Implied childbirth, Mental Anguish, Mental Breakdown, Mental Whump, Mentions of Death, Minor Original Character(s), Mpreg, Multi, Nightmares, Nudity, OC, OCs - Freeform, OT6, Original Character(s), Pregnancy, Race To The Edge, S5EP7: "Dawn of Destruction", S5EP8: "Wings of War Part 1", S5EP9: "Wings of War Part 2", Trans Character, UA, Universe Alteration, Whump, death mention, hiccup's not gonna have it easy, httyd oc, implied polyamory, rtte, taking care of babies is hard, trans!hiccup, vigi tiny haddock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:09:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 50,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21737371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHeartForStories/pseuds/AHeartForStories
Summary: An RttE AU that involves trans!Hiccup and an unexpected pregnancy when the Riders make use of their parents' absence and aren't as careful as they should be. Hiccup started off that day feeling awful and unlike himself. As day becomes night and then turns into morning, his life will have changed for good.
Relationships: Astrid/Fishlegs/Hiccup/Ruffnut/Snotlout/Tuffnut, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless
Series: Unexpected To Say The Least [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1570744
Comments: 56
Kudos: 110





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this actually started off as a complete and utter joke between me and some friends of mine that took off and we became a lot more involved in this AU than we ever planned to be and ended up loving it. So here's the prologue.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

This particular morning was a strange one for Hiccup Haddock.

He woke up later than he normally would. Not that he was an early riser, much to Stoick's dismay. His son was a night owl.

Hiccup threw the covers off and sat up in bed feeling more or less like a hot steaming pile of dragon crap with his hair even more of a mess than usual. A deep sigh left him. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, just as tired as the rest of him was. He yawned out loud and long.

Something didn't feel quite right with him and he couldn't put his finger on the reason why. There were occasional, but not too terrible, cramps in his stomach. They were the only sensations physical and recognizable enough that he had the words to describe that at least.

Toothless was by his side the moment he realized his Rider had awoken, leaving his stone bed and laying his head on Hiccup's lap with a good morning warble.

"Hey, Bud." He greeted him with a smile, scratching behind an earfin of his.

He still felt like he'd stayed up all night, even though he'd gone to bed earlier than he usually would. There was the urge to just lie back down and sleep the rest of the day away.

But he decided against doing that because he knew there was much that needed to be done. They were expecting Trader Johann to come pay Dragon's Edge a visit, too. If all went right, there was information the seafaring merchant needed to share regarding a secret project Hiccup had been working on the past two weeks.

So for as bad as he felt, Hiccup needed to get up.

"Toothless?" Hiccup questioned his dragon as, when he swung his legs over the side of his bed with the plan to pick his prosthetic up from the floor next, Toothless stopped him.

With a protesting growl, the Night Fury attempted to push him back down again, apparently very fond of Hiccup's previous idea to sleep the rest of the day away, though he didn't recall telling the dragon about it. Toothless wasn't being forceful, he was being quite gentle about it, using the flat of his head to make him back up. Hiccup scooted out of his reach.

"Bud?"

With his snout, he prodded the other's agitated belly and looked up to him with big, concerned eyes and a croon. Hiccup didn't need to think twice before he figured he knew what was bothering Toothless.

"You can tell something's up with me?" Hiccup asked and Toothless' earfins perked up. He barked to confirm his suspicion.

"Don't worry about it, Bud, they're just some cramps. I'm perfectly fine." But then he gave the dragon that answer with a casual shrug and Hiccup didn't get the chance to give his best friend another scratch before Toothless' nubs flattened and he dropped his head down on the bed. He seemed so disappointed for some reason.

"Well, geez, grumpy pants, sorry for being fine." Hiccup teased him, but the only response he got was a grumble.

Hiccup grabbed his metal leg and pulled it on.

Patting Toothless' head and then pushing himself up to his feet, Hiccup needed to take a moment to steady himself before he could search for his leather armor wherever he'd left it the evening before.

Finding and putting his pauldrons on was easy, but his chest piece brought with it some discomfort. It's been discomfortingly tight around his middle for weeks, but it didn't trouble him as much as it did that morning. Tight clothing was just Hiccup's preferred attire. There was less that just hung loose and billowed in the wind during a flight. Even the little things such as that helped him and Toothless fly faster in the sky.

Not that they have been doing much flying as of late. Only when it was an emergency did Toothless agree to take him up to the sky. Hiccup didn't know why.

Today, however, the chest piece seemed to make his stomach feel even worse. It wasn't long before it was back off and thrown onto the bed with a huff.

Toothless raised his head in surprise when it landed near his nose.

As another cramp passed, Hiccup let out a deep sigh. He didn't know what was causing them and he frankly did not care. He couldn't fall ill now. Not with some guy out there hurting innocent dragons. All the Dragon Riders had seen what had been done to Garf after they managed to get the juvenile Death Song back to the Edge to help him heal. They couldn't let others suffer such cruelty.

Then there was all the other stuff he still needed to deal with. Such as the usual patrols and the upcoming annual dragon census.

And the completion of his Dragon Eye Two, the super-secret project he was fighting to keep hidden from his friends. He wanted it to be a surprise. Just the thought of their faces when he could finally reveal his creation thrilled him. He could hardly wait. 

Now dressed and, surprisingly enough, still starving despite how awful he felt, Hiccup wanted to make his way down the stairs to reach the ground floor of his hut, but Toothless came to stand between him and his descend. He sat down with a mumble and a very disapproving look.

"Bud?" There was still that worry in his eyes even as he made himself an unmovable object in front of Hiccup. It seemed like the Night Fury didn't want him to go about his day today. He didn't even want him to leave his bed.

Having stumped him, Toothless again tried to push his Rider back, effectively turning him on his heels. He was being careful, something that Hiccup also found to be quite unlike him.

It's not like he was never cautious, but usually, he needed a reason. At that moment, Hiccup couldn't think of a single one.

He was feeling off, tired, and occasionally hurt, but it shouldn't cause Toothless to act this way no matter how overbearing he could sometimes be.

On any other day, Hiccup would be downright thrown back onto the bed, or even the stone slab, and pinned down by Toothless' full weight until he had no other choice but to surrender and be met with the face of a very, very smug dragon who was acutely aware this mortal human could never physically fight him.

"Toothless, Bud, I need to go." Hiccup passed the Night Fury by with a spin to try and leave, but soon found his hand to be caught in a very slimy grip. Looking back with an expression of distaste, he saw Toothless biting down on it with his teeth retracted.

Hiccup tried to ignore the unpleasant chills running down his spine. His hand was going to smell like fish for the rest of the day.

"Wow, you really don't want me to leave, do you?" He let the dragon pull him back to bed with a growl. They were only his gums, but his grip remained strong.

Sopping wet, but surprisingly strong.

At least for a moment, Hiccup decided to humor him and sat back down. Toothless put his head on his lap again and he was content for the time being.

As Hiccup petted the top of his head, Toothless purred, he let his thoughts drift away.

Hiccup knew Toothless was acting more than a little bit odd lately. They barely ever took to the sky, Toothless despised even the easiest missions, rough play between the Riders was strictly forbidden, and the rare times they did take to the sky, it was for smooth flying only. No tricks, no rolls, nothing.

Tuffnut sometimes pretended not to recognize Hiccup because his hair was neat for once without the wind blowing it into a near-permanent mess.

Hiccup could no longer even eat whatever he wanted. If there was a meal Toothless did not like, even if it was a single ingredient, he would downright slap it out of his Rider's hands. And then he would either demand that something else be made, or he would go catch something he approved off himself.

Toothless' behavior was simply outrageous sometimes. For as overly protective as he could be, it was unlike him and it was something that's been happening for weeks.

Well, it's been this bad for weeks. This new side of his first started showing itself just a mere month or two, three since the Dragon Riders had come to live here on the Edge.

Hiccup wasn't an idiot. At least, not a total one. He did worry and he hated the fact that he didn't know why his Bud was acting this way, but he was also aware that, because of their recent war with Viggo Grimborn, he got hurt a lot since moving here. Either they crashed, ended up captured, or kidnapped and Hiccup figured that could be a reason.

Insisting he stay in bed and going as far as to try to keep him hostage was new, though.

"You know, bud," As a full hour passed them by, Hiccup figured he should try to get up again, shaking away the drowsiness creeping up on him. It was unusual for him to nearly doze off while sitting up. It could happen if he were to pull all-nighter after all-nighter, but he had slept well and long last night.

Toothless gave him a grumble, but otherwise stayed quiet. He knew what the human was about to say and he already didn't like it.

"I should get up. The other Riders are probably starting to wonder where I am and I'm starving." The dragon raised his head and gave a croon.

"And no, you can't go and get me food."

There he went again. Back on his lap. Hiccup let out a sigh.

"I've been here a whole extra hour, Toothless, I need to go. There I things I need to do!" Lifting him off his lap himself, Hiccup seized his opportunity to stand and leave.

Toothless growled in dismay, but didn't try to stop him again. He was starting to realize keeping Hiccup here was futile.

Hiccup glanced at him from atop the stairs before he took it down.

It was on days like these that he wished he understood exactly what dragons were saying. He and Toothless could've talked it out ages ago and the Night Fury wouldn't be upset with him now.

As Hiccup opened the oversized hatch leading to his living space, footsteps approached. Despite how deceptively soft they were, Hiccup still heard them over his quite loud front entrance. The hinges needed to be oiled.

Looking back, Toothless was already right behind him.

Just like his Rider and Stoick, he could be incredibly stubborn as well. It surprised Hiccup to see the Night Fury decide to join him as he wasn't above just staying put whenever Hiccup didn't listen and sulking about it. But for whatever reason, that wasn't the case today.

Hiccup was glad. He'd spend the rest of the day worrying if Toothless decided to stay put for much longer.

"Let's go, Bud. I know there's a nice dish of haddock with your name on it." The years spend with humans forced Toothless to roll his eyes at Hiccup's tease, but the latter could tell it was done in a friendly way. He laughed.

But the moment Hiccup set a foot outside his hut it wasn't Fishlegs searching for him or Astrid and Stormfly coming to get him for a sparring match that made him halt. It was whatever ailed his stomach.

It felt more painful for some reason.

But Hiccup decided he didn't have the time to fall ill and continued on his way, meeting with both Fishlegs and Astrid on the way to the clubhouse.


	2. Something Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johann visits Dragon Edge and Hiccup experiences some more discomforts. It eventually becomes too much and Hiccup may be forced to admit that this is something he can't shove under the rug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I have about a week off, the second chapter should be up sometime soon. Either this coming weekend or the weekend afterward. Chapter 3 has also been written and chapter 4 is on its way. Hopefully this is a multichapter fic that I can finish!  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

“Dragon's Edge! My favorite of all the islands in the Archipelago! Of what service may I be to Hiccup and his Dragon Riders today?” Trader Johann's greeting was as flattering as ever as he reached the docks that same morning.

Hiccup wasted little time. The second Johann moored, he was already up on deck along with Toothless. The two of them had been waiting along with Astrid and Stormfly, who walked aboard as well and took a look at his wares.

"Hey, Johann."

"Ah, Master Hiccup! I feel like I must apologize to you, I have failed you on this endeavor you've sent me on. I wasn't able to procure your oil on this recent trip. I was otherwise engaged with a Northern Native..." The Trader apologized as he approached the lead Dragon Rider. His apology, though interrupted by quite a nefarious chuckle of his own, drew some attention.

"Oil? Oil for what?" Astrid was feeding Stormfly some cabbages she'd traded for, they were supposedly the best found in the Archipelago, but it didn't stop her from overhearing the two of them. She was very interested in knowing more.

"Oh, just a little something I've been working on." Hiccup was careful not to let any details slip as he answered.

"Oh right, your secret project." She was teasing as she was very eager to know what he'd been tinkering with as of late. She was aware that the plans of it certainly existed. It pained her to have no further information than that.

"Astrid." Hiccup didn't retort with his usual sass, but the urge was certainly there.

"However," Johann butted both figuratively as well as literally back into their conversation as he came to stand in between them, laying his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. Apparently, he felt left out.

Hiccup did not appreciate the close contact and not just because of the unwanted invasion into his personal space, something he was already quite protective of.

Johann, seafaring, traveling, spice carrying Johann, smelled awful. At least to Hiccup. It was only something that he started to take note of some months ago, he'd never noticed before. His stench was much too strong to bear, Hiccup felt his stomach churn. He needed to stop himself from holding his breath.

"I'm ecstatic to tell you that the oil you seek can be found in the rare Sassafras Albidum plant found only on the Isle of Thizzian." With an arm wrapped around Hiccup's shoulders and a dramatically wide wave did Johann gesture towards an unseen land in the far, far distance.

Hiccup pulled himself away from the Trader and took a step back. The salty scent of the ocean was never this relieving. He hoped his deep intake of air wasn't as noticeable as it felt.

"I have included its location in its description." Johann handed Hiccup a map, who took it and quickly found a nearby crate to spread it out on. He was curious, he wanted to see what was on it. He loved maps, but if this one held the information he needed than he would love this one most of all.

"I had hoped to procure it in the dark markets of Aberdine, but as I mentioned, my trip took quite a strange turn-" Johann joined him as Hiccup read the map, but Hiccup wasn't up for a wild story that would take ten hours.

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine, Johann." He dismissed him, a relaxed fist held to his chin in thought.

"I would go get it myself, but it could be a two-day trip. I'm not sure I can go." For as adamant as he was to still go about his day despite feeling so off, he truly did not feel like staying away from the Edge for that long. And he could convince Toothless to do many things, but he could never get him as far as to leave the Edge. Not when he had been so demanding that his Rider stay in bed that morning.

For some reason, the other Dragons were very keen on taking Toothless' side almost every time. The Night Fury wasn't the only one acting strangely protective around him, all of them were working together to sabotage Hiccup in his daily life in some way.

"Wow, you really aren't feeling well, are you?" Snotlout arrived just in time to snark. He knew it wasn't like the Dragon Rider to not feel up for a long trip, especially if flying was involved. The same could be said for all of them, just Hiccup in particular.

Nevertheless, they hadn't seen him in the sky much as of late. The Riders knew Toothless was keeping him grounded. They figured it was because of reasons kept between the two of them, though they had tried to find out what was up. They didn't buy Hiccup's "I have absolutely no idea" for even a second.

"What? I feel fine!" Hiccup responded as Snotlout dismounted Hookfang, who wandered off.

"Hiccup, one minute you say you're starving and the next food makes you so nauseous you lose your appetite and just stroll off without touching your meal. Toothless was even trying to drag you back inside!" Astrid disagreed strongly. She'd seen the way Hiccup acted today, she knew he wasn't well.

And hearing him tell them that the reason why they were late for breakfast was that Toothless had been trying to get him back in bed certainly didn't help.

"Hey, Johann, do you have any medicine? We're about to run out and Hiccup might be getting sick." Fishlegs had arrived at the same time as Snotlout had. With the trader here he decided he might as well ask. It could mean he didn't need to go out there and find some himself with one of them in need of healing herbs.

“What is that my ears hear? Is Master Hiccup ill?” Johann popped up from somewhere, cupping an ear.

“Uhm, no, no, I’m not. Just some stomach cramps and nothing more.” Hiccup wasn’t too particularly happy to have Johann listening in on his conversation with the Riders present, but there was no undoing it now.

The man was already off, rummaging through his stuff before swiftly returning with a tiny bottle in hand.

“Ah, cramps, you say? Well, I’ve got the perfect thing for you! These herbs from the far South supposedly cure any ailment in the blink of an eye! Very handy for someone as busy as yourself!” Of course, the trader saw an opportunity to pawn off one of his many wares. Hiccup barely managed to suppress a sigh. The Trader gave him a wink.

Fishlegs gently nudged him from behind, smiling encouragingly. He thought it was a good idea.

"Fine. Johann, what do you want for it in exchange." Hiccup caved in. He didn't feel like arguing about it and there was the nagging suspicion Astrid and Fishlegs would not let this go if he did.

"Ah, nothing more but the opportunity to wish you good health, Master Hiccup." Johann handed the bottle over, almost pushed it into his hands.

"Oh! Well, uh, thank you." Hiccup thanked the trader as he took it from him, eyeing the item now in his possession. Usually, it was only his father, the Chief of Berk, who could sometimes get things for free from Johann.

"Not a problem, Master Hiccup! As I always say..."

Hiccup was already no longer listening as Johann started another one of his infamously long and needlessly detailed stories.

Leaving the other Riders to deal with it, he walked off still holding onto both the map and the bottle. The island of Thizzian he could still visit after he was better. Finishing the Dragon Eye Two, though Hiccup could barely believe he was even thinking it, could wait for another day.

"Hiccup?" Astrid spoke his name as she noticed Hiccup halting his way off the boat, holding onto the side.

He breathed in and out deeply, an awful cramp ran through him. He was letting it on more than he wanted to. Toothless warbled something in concern, offering him his head to use for support.

"I'm fine." Once it passed, Hiccup responded to Astrid and continued on his way, the remaining Dragon Riders staring at him as he and Toothless left.

Up on the docks he met with the twins and they came bearing gifts.

"Hiccup!" Ruffnut called to him.

"We made this and thought of you," Tuffnut spoke and showed him a plate with salted fish. The strong stench sent Hiccup reeling and the urge to throw up was too much, he ran to the edge of the docks.

"Ruff, Tuff! You know he's sick!" Astrid was quick to scold the two from on Johann's boat.

"Nice going, muttonheads!" Snotlout shouted to them before looking through the Trader's vast collection of weapons.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other and shrugged. They guessed doing Hiccup a favor by making him extra-late-breakfast-and-lunch-in-one, that they cleverly wanted to name "brunch", maybe wasn't such a good idea when it was a stomach bug that kept Hiccup from eating in the first place.

Ah well, they tried. There was more for them, at least.

Next to Astrid, Fishlegs fidgetted in place as she inspected a dagger, testing its sharpness before ultimately deciding the ones their resident blacksmith made were of much better quality.

"Huh, now that I think of it, Hiccup's been sensitive to smells for a long time now, hasn't he? Months?" He asked her and she briefly glanced towards Hiccup's position. Tuffnut was patting his back in comfort as he stood there hunched over the edge of the docks and trying not to puke with a very upset Toothless standing near. Ruffnut was enjoying the salted fish.

"Yeah, I guess he is." She muttered contemplatively. There were several instances that Astrid could think of in just one minute alone. She thought it might be worth looking into later, after Johann had left and it was only them again. Her only regret was not realizing sooner that something might be up.

* * *

“Oh, my fff-Thor!” Stopping himself from cursing just in time, it was much, much later that day when Hiccup found himself too inconvenienced by pain to keep working. It was night.

He'd been busy in the forge ever since Johann's departure late in the morning, mainly making up for the time he couldn't spend on his project by sharpening the dull weapons on the Edge, creating a brand new mace for a certain Thorston and other more menial tasks.

In the last couple of hours, his "minor" stomach aches had grown considerably in intensity. It was through his sheer stubbornness alone that Hiccup hadn't let anyone convince him to go rest already. The Dragon Riders had noticed.

"Cure any ailment in the blink of an eye!" Hiccup's salty impersonation of Johann wasn't quite as good as his dadersonation, but how accurate he was truly wasn't on his mind at the moment. He had taken the trader's medicine and it had only helped a little. It was trash.

He was pacing. Been doing so for a while now, wearing the floor down, and that only did so much for him.

What did his body want? Did it want him to keep walking? Did it want to sit? Lie down? It was too restless and yet at the same time, it wanted to do nothing other than hurt.

Toothless, still faithfully with him even though Hiccup was being particularly infuriating that day, crooned and nudged his Rider's side when he passed him by again.

"No, Toothless!" Hiccup didn't mean to snap or swat at him, but those cramps were now too painful to ignore and he wished not to be touched. Not even by his own dragon, though he meant well.

Toothless crooned despondently.

Tired of walking around in circles, his Rider bend over on his workbench, crossed his arms and pressed his forehead into them. He could hear Hiccup groan and see him tense up. His fingers dug into his upper arms. Another cramp burned through his abdomen and his lower back.

He couldn't stay here. Toothless knew this. He could see the pained grimace, his brows furrowing, his teeth clenching.

Settling his forelegs on the wooden surface of Hiccup's well-worn workspace, he came to stand next to him and chose to nudge the other's temple with his nose this time.

Hiccup looked up and his Night Fury could see the trouble in his eyes. Toothless averted his gaze and his Rider followed his example, they both looked up to their hut.

"That sounds like a- Ah-a good idea, Bud!" A pain interrupted him, but it didn't stop Hiccup from patting Toothless' nose afterward, head back down momentarily.

His body was disagreeing with him at the moment, but at least it seemed to agree that the comfort of his own home sounded like a good place to be in. Hiccup regretted ever even leaving it. The problem now was getting there. Work combined with whatever was up with him now was having a toll on him.

"I need help, Toothless." The Night Fury didn't need to be told twice, he lowered himself to the ground to make it easier for Hiccup to climb on and Hiccup didn't argue.

He mounted, groaning, his knuckles turning white from his tight grip on the saddle and his neck craning.

They weren't going to fly, but Toothless could bring him up to the hut in a fast and easy jog once he settled. It would be less hard on him and Hiccup didn't need to focus on controlling the tailfin correctly.

Hiccup was not having a good time on his back as Toothless brought them up there. Besides his main discomfort, there was something else bothering him too. Settling a hand on his hip, he let out a shaky breath.

He hadn't told Toothless this, but since the last hour or so, there was something almost alive moving inside of him and he hated it. It was too unnerving. It sent cold shivers down his spine. So unpleasant was the sensation, it creeped him out.

Toothless got his Rider up to their home in a matter of seconds and Hiccup dismounted once his Bud stopped by his bed. He was insistent on bringing him up there himself.

"Thanks, Bud." Hiccup spoke and approached his bed.

Hiccup's first instinct was to lie down on his side and kick his boot and leg off, but when he did, he quickly discovered it was no use as it only made him feel worse.

After some time, he rolled onto his back and then his other side, Toothless watching him, but the concept of "comfort" was a foreign one to him at the moment.

"Oh come on." He hissed as the cramps grew worse and he eventually ended up on his elbows and knees with his hands in his hair, breathing in through his nose and out past his lips. It helped ease his nerves at least and it was the most comfortable position he could get in at the moment.

Toothless had settled on the floor in front of him at the head of the bed and crooned. He pressed his forehead against Hiccup's in support, purring in understanding. If anything, Hiccup was happy to have him there.

"Oh Gods, what's happening to me?" He moaned as another drawn-out pain made his muscles cramp up. He was starting to realize that they may not be cramps, but something a little different. What was the question.

Maybe he shouldn't be dealing with these on his own.

Toothless seemed to agree, gesturing towards the door.

"Bud," Hiccup moved upright and grabbed Toothless' neck to pull him close and hide his face. He clung to him. He didn't like to admit it, but he was starting to get scared. His body was hurting badly and he didn't have a clue as to why it did.

"I think something's wrong with me. Something really bad." The Night Fury could only croon, upset at his Rider's panic.

He knew exactly what was happening and he'd been trying to tell him for months what was up. But he had failed and now Hiccup was scared and he didn't even know of what.

"I need you to go wake up Fishlegs and bring him here. I-" Hiccup cringed mid-sentence before he finally managed to spit it out.

"I need him!"

Toothless gave his Rider a reassuring croon and mashed their faces together briefly before he was off, out to get the healer of the group. He hurried.

* * *

When Fishlegs was awoken from a wonderful dream early that same night by a loud crash and Toothless dragging him out of bed with an arm, panic immediately set in.

"Oh no, Toothless?" He recognized the Night Fury, grogginess instantly gone, and jumped up from the floor. Seeing him in such distress made Fishlegs worry for Hiccup.

"What's wrong? Is it Hiccup? Is something wrong with Hiccup?! What happened?!" His questions kept on coming and all the while Toothless was pushing the Ingerman out of his home with the flat of his head.

Grabbing his helmet, tunic, and boots along the way, the second Fishlegs' entrance opened and he set a foot outside, he was already hurrying towards where he was needed. He wasn't the fastest of the Riders and on the way he hurriedly dressed himself for the cold, but it only took him seconds to arrive. He wanted to know what was wrong.

Once there, he could already hear Hiccup moaning and groaning before he even entered. When he did, the moonlight only just allowed him to see the curled up figure of his friend up on the loft.

Hiccup was still kneeling, this time a pillow clutched in his arms that he pressed his face into, muffling the sounds he made.

Instead of following Fishlegs inside, Toothless left again. Others needed to be there as well.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs wasn't as hesitant as he thought he would be.

"Fishlegs! I think something's wrong with me!" Hiccup sat up when he heard him and replied. He was gazing down at the other with despair clear on his face even from that distance.

Running up the stairs, and briefly wondering why Hiccup had insisted on building a loft in the first place, Fishlegs was by his side in an instant. He took his hand and placed the other on his upper back before kneeling next to the bed.

"What's the matter?"

"It's-it's those cramps I've been feeling all day. They've been getting worse and worse and now-" Hiccup didn't even need to tell him, Fishlegs could tell how painful they were from his expression alone. And as he dealt with phantom limb pains fairly regularly still, Hiccup wasn't exactly someone with a low tolerance for pain.

"Anything else?" If Fishlegs wished to help him, he needed the full list of everything bothering him. If there was anything besides those cramps, he needed to know.

"No! Just those awful abdominal cramps and I feel so bad and..." Hiccup stopped himself, breathing deeply. There was something, Fishlegs could tell.

"And what?" His voice was soft as Fishlegs asked him this question. The last thing he wanted to be was forceful, but he needed to know everything Hiccup was feeling. He hoped the other would listen, boar-headed as he could be.

After a short pause, Hiccup figured it was wiser to tell him than to keep this a secret. No matter how much it freaked him out.

"I... This is going to sound really strange, but I feel like something's moving inside of me and it's freaking me out. I think it's alive somehow!" Re-positioning himself just a tad bit, Fishlegs scooted in front of Hiccup and, after getting his wordless permission with a nod from Hiccup, placed a hand where he was told to put it.

Fishlegs froze when he felt it too. He could see what Hiccup meant when he claimed there was something alive within his body. He also realized the sensation against his palm was a familiar one.

He moved his hand underneath Hiccup's tunic to touch bare skin and make sure he wasn't mistaken, but the sensation was there all the same, maybe somewhat more obvious now. He felt something moving against the palm of his hand. It would have disturbed him greatly if he didn't remember feeling the exact same thing back when his sister was pregnant with her triplets, Brenda, Brant, and Shrug, a good couple of years back.

It was something that astounded him now just as much as it had done back then. Maybe a bit more, considering their situation.

"Fishlegs?" Hiccup did not like this prolonged silence and this look of surprise that he wore. It made him even more worried than he already was.

Slowly, Fishlegs finally looked up to him again with a concerned face of his own. He was hesitant to speak, this didn't make any sense. How was Hiccup going to take this news?

He licked his suddenly very dry lips and willed himself to speak.

"I think you're pregnant."

All Hiccup could do was stare, head shaking lightly in disbelief as Fishlegs' words didn't quite sink in. Did he hear that right? He couldn't have. Right?

"Wait, what?"

Both of them glancing back towards the entrance, Astrid Hofferson was standing there with a look of utter shock and Toothless standing beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Johann's scene I re-watched and adjusted accordingly, but I am mostly working off of memory here. I don't have the self-control necessary to write after rewatching season 5 in its entirety.


	3. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news has barely sunk in for Hiccup, it's all too unreal, but nature has a way of making him face the truth. Fortunately, he's not alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have since posting the previous chapter actually watched the episode 'Edge of Destruction' and learned that is the episode the Riders learned about Krogan and Hiccup recognized him as the guy from the auction and the bounty hunter.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

Minutes after Fishlegs' shocking revelation, all the Riders were present in Hiccup's hut.

Astrid had gone to Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Snotlout respectively and very kindly either dragged or rolled them right out of bed. She believed that there was no time to waste on sweet words and soft rousings. They were going to get out of bed and they were going to do it fast.

There were many complaints, of course, but they all quickly ceased when Astrid told them just three words; "Hiccup's in labor."

They were confused, understandably so, but instead of asking questions, they decided to join Fishlegs. They'd hurried.

However, once they were brought up to speed, there was little else they could do but sit around and wait. First times usually took a long time, sometimes even up to two days. So Gothi had told Fishlegs during one of their many lessons and so he had informed all the Riders.

There was a sound of agitation from Hiccup, who just wanted this inexplicable pain gone, but everyone else was relieved. The situation hadn't yet sunken in for any of them. At least this gave them the time they needed to wake up fully so they could be of actual help when it mattered.

"It explains so much! Like Hiccup's stronger sense of smell." Fishlegs mentioned as he paced around on the ground floor of the hut. He was reminiscing, thinking of all the signs that they must've overlooked over the past months.

"Wait? So it isn't a superpower?" Ruffnut, casually sitting crosslegged on a barrel, was disappointed to hear this.

When Hiccup could guess what she used in the fish oil she always slathered her hair with to kindly demand she never use it ever again for the sake of his stomach quickly followed by the immediate urge to retch, Ruffnut had told Tuffnut, certain it was some kind of new power.

"Ah man, now we gotta scrap "super smell" off the list." Tuffnut, who'd been quite excited to learn this back then, shared her feelings. He pouted.

"What list?" Astrid asked incredulously, though she wasn't entirely sure she even wanted to know.

"The "Hiccup's magical powers" list! Duh!" Ruff answered her as if it should have been obvious. Astrid did not repress the urge to roll her eyes. Of all the times to make jokes like these...

"Yeah, now all that remains is "make things appear out of thin air", "fireproofiness", superhuman invulnerability, and dragon whispering." Tuffnut was quite upset as he listed what they had apparently written down so far.

The Riders knew of the Thorstons' theory that Hiccup was keeping his secret identity as a magical creature a secret, but hadn't quite expected them to go any further than their usual shenanigans. How foolish of all of them. The twins were keeping an eye on him, it seemed.

"For the last time, Tuffnut, I. Am not. Magic!" Hiccup shouted hopelessly from the loft.

"Yeah, okay. Sure! You're not fooling anybody, though!" Ruffnut called back, followed by an annoyed groan from the other.

Just then, Snotlout piped up out of nowhere with a slightly unrelated topic.

"He ate an eel that one time!" He slammed a fist on the table in realization. Everybody knew Hiccup didn't like eels. Alive or for dinner.

Deciding not to ask Snotlout to elaborate on that, Fishlegs resumed his train of thought.

"Anyway, like I was saying, it explains so much. Hiccup's sense of smell-"

"Yeah-"

"We are not going there again." Astrid curtly told the twins before they started what she considered nonsense again and Fishlegs could continue.

"The way Hiccup's been feeling today, how overprotective Toothless and the other dragons have been... They probably knew for months! That's why they have been acting so strange around Hiccup!" He stated matter-of-factly, a finger in the air.

Usually, it was Toothless keeping close tabs on Hiccup, but in the rare instances that he couldn't, the other dragons had looked out for Hiccup in his stead.

At least Snotlout now knew why attempting to tackle Hiccup for some playful roughhousing was a big no-no to Hookfang lately. Even Stormfly put a stop to what should've been a nice and passionate sparring match when Astrid approached Hiccup with the idea that morning.

"It also explains the... You know." Snotlout helpfully gestured towards his own chest in a rounded manner. The other Riders gaped at him with eyes wide.

"What? We're all thinking it! Hiccup's chest piece didn't make him as flat as it usually does! Am I the only one who was thinking about Them during sex?" Snotlout was a breast and ass man, whether it was with a man or a woman, of course, he would notice something.

A pillow was thrown at him from above. It was an accurate throw as it collided with his face and a satisfying "oomph" followed.

"This, Snotlout, is what we call disrespecting someone's boundaries," Ruffnut informed him. She was not too pleased with his words.

"Do that again Snotlout and I will punch you somewhere soft and dainty." Settling one hand on her hip, Astrid glared at the Jorgenson and pointed at him threateningly.

"If I do what again? This- OUCH!"

"Be a little sensitive, Snotlout! You know how Hiccup feels about these matters!" Fishlegs raised his voice, upset. Snotlout lied curled up on the floor and whimpered.

"Not cool, bro." Tuffnut took the side of the majority on this one.

Upstairs, Hiccup shook his head.

Gradually learning to bear his discomforts, he was kneeling on the floor facing the side of his bed with his arms crossed on top of it. He was trying to wait it out just like Fishlegs had told him to. As distressing as it was, there was nothing else he could do.

Showing solidarity, Toothless sat opposite to him on the other side, his forelegs on the wooden surface in a similar fashion as his Rider.

The conversation between the others downstairs, in spite of the path it had taken, did spark something within Hiccup.

"It does kinda explain your behavior, Bud." He told Toothless, bringing up something he'd been mulling over in his mind.

"All the times you were trying to tell me something and you were so upset I didn't understand. Or every time you put your foot down whenever I wanted to go flying or leave on a mission. You were just trying to keep me safe. Or us... I guess." He'd been doing a lot of introspection as he waited for whatever was inside of him to come out. A lot of his Night Fury's odd antics suddenly made sense.

Biting his lower lip until it nearly bled and dropping his forehead down onto his arms, a contraction as Fishlegs had informed him, ran through him followed by that same sensation of some foreign thing moving inside his body.

How could there possibly be a baby inside of him?

With his head already down, Hiccup couldn't help but stare at his belly, which was still flat.

Okay, maybe not as flat as it used to be as he had, admittedly, gained just the slightest tad bit of weight in recent months, but it was near unnoticeable if he wore his armor and so it was certainly not enough to even shake his reputation as Berk's runt.

If anything, he'd believed he was finally broadening up a bit. He'd grown in length, it was time he grew a little in size too.

But no, it was something entirely different. Why did this have to happen to him?!

As if able to sense his growing distress, Toothless let a puff of air ruffle his hair and his snout nudged insistingly to make Hiccup lift his head back up. The other listened and came to gaze up to his best friend again.

Toothless may not have been able to inform him of the news his strong nose had told him at the very beginning months ago, but there were still somethings these two didn't need to tell each other. The Night Fury could see the brewing storm in his Rider's eyes.

"Bud? Everything will be okay, right?" It wasn't often Hiccup Haddock of all people who seemed so lost, but those moments did still happen. Toothless was there to provide him with some reassurance.

The Night Fury bumped their foreheads together before licking his. It was basically a "you're stuck with me". If anything, Hiccup could count on having him there. No matter what. Even through the births of surprise babies.

"Thanks, Bud."

Having grown tiresome of listening to the twins and Snotlout and having some worries of her own, Astrid ascended the stairs and reached the loft.

"Hey, how're you doing?" She spoke sweetly and came to sit on the floor next to Hiccup, leaning with her back against the side of his bed.

"Uh, can I say terrible?" He asked and she nodded sympathetically.

"Hiccup, I kind of need to know. When was the last time you had your moon's blood?" She asked softly, attempting to be discreet, though there were no secrets between the six of them. Well, the seven of them, Toothless included. The eleven of them, all the Dragon Riders included.

"I don't remember? Way too long ago?" He answered and watched as surprise appeared on her face.

"And you didn't wonder why it stopped coming every month?" She asked then, shocked that Hiccup, probably _the_ smartest guy she knew, hadn't figured out something must've been up with himself long ago.

"It's supposed to come that often?" That answer blew her mind with how dumbfounding it was, but she could tell it was a genuine question he was asking her. This wasn't a tease, or a joke, or any attempt at lightening the mood. He was honestly wondering.

With how close they were, they were aware of certain things and Hiccup moreso than everybody else as the leader and heir of Berk. So while he could tell when Astrid was fond of some extra attentive attention and when Ruff craved certain luxurious treats, he never thought to wonder why he didn't follow the same cycle as them.

"Oh, sweet Summer child!" Ruffnut shouted from the bottom floor, eavesdropping on their conversation. They all were.

Astrid sighed after sending the young woman a brief glare. This was not the time.

Sitting back again, she noticed how Hiccup's troubled brow had deepened.

This discovery bothered her too as she realized once again that Hiccup didn't have a mother. Who knew how knowledgeable Stoick was about things as personal as this or if his son was even willing to talk with him about such matters. If Stoick was willing.

He'd been late too. Something he ended up confessing to Astrid in private when his moon's blood did come for the first time when he was already sixteen years of age and he had no idea what to do.

It had freaked him out. He thought he was hurt and bleeding out somehow, remembering crashing with Toothless just hours prior and fearing he'd torn something important inside his body.

It was a secret she had kept quietly to herself for his sake and she had seen it as her duty to help him out with no mother present in his life.

She could still vividly picture the panic and the embarrassment he wore that day as he pulled her aside, it was similar to the face he was wearing now.

Placing a hand on his upper arm and rubbing with her thumb, she smiled at him as he met her gaze.

"We'll talk about this later, okay? And if you want, I can go with you to Gothi's so she can give you a clear and complete explanation, okay? If you want to." She suggested and Hiccup highly appreciated it. He nodded quietly. That helped ease him a little bit at least.

Toothless, Astrid, and Hiccup all jumped when a board game was dropped down on the bed.

"Yeah, enough talk! Time for games!" Snotlout joined them, smirking smugly from ear to ear. The Night Fury growling right beside him for startling his already frazzled Rider didn't seem to faze him at all.

"Games?" Hiccup asked, that was about the last way he wanted to waste time in his current state. He was tired. As the night passed them by, sleep escaped him.

"Yeah, games! I thought we could play some Maces and Talons. Come on, it'll take your mind off this whole thing." Plus, he figured he had some making up to do after his earlier comments. Snotlout was already settling down and taking the pieces necessary.

"I can't take my mind off this whole thing, Snotlout, there are constant reminders. Such as contractions. And a moving... you know." He was hesitant to say the word.

"Baby?" Fishlegs tried to be helpful as he finished climbing the stairs, but was met with a look.

"Than how do we help?" Ruffnut asked as both she and Tuffnut gravitated upstairs, following the previous two Riders. Her question was honest.

Laying his chin down on his arms, Hiccup looked away.

"I don't know."

A moment of silence.

"I'll play." Astrid decided, kicking her boots off and moving up on her knees. Hiccup may not feel like playing himself, but she could and maybe that would still manage to help him relax.

"Hehe, what do you think? Queens against lowly peasants?" Ruff suggested as she crouched behind Astrid, grabbing and looking over her shoulder at the game Snotlout was setting up while Tuffnut sat down next to him.

"Chief?" He asked.

"Chief." Astrid nodded decisively.

Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Toothless watched on in interest.

Before they could start their first game, however...

"Uh, Fishlegs?" Everyone turned their attention back to Hiccup as he scooted backwards on the floor, gazing down between his legs. Fishlegs walked to his side.

"I think my water just broke."

They took a peek and, sure enough, his leather pants were wet.

It was silent for a good few seconds and then panic broke loose.

"Oh my Thor, oh my Thor, oh my Thor-" Snotlout's rantings were interrupted by a smack to the back of the head from Ruffnut.

"Pray to Freyja, you muttonhead! Thor is useless here!" She shouted at him after the slap. She was upset.

"Quick! We need to get Gothi! And- and Stoick! Get the dragons!" Tuffnut shouted, pointing towards the front entrance.

"Guys, this isn't helping. This isn't helping!" Fishlegs told the three of them, though he was pacing all over the place again too, unable to think of what he was supposed to do next.

"Okay, Hiccup, remember your breathing. In and out slowly!" Astrid attempted to be helpful, turning her body fully toward the other. Her arms moved up and down with each respective breath.

"What?! My breathing?!" He asked, feeling his stress levels rise the longer everyone in the group panicked.

Toothless, who noticed, let out a loud and angered roar to force them all to a halt. His pupils were narrowed as this was no way to act in situations such as this. His human needed the help of his fellows and the dragon expected him to be given just that.

In the name of Odin's beard, they were the Dragon Riders. If anyone was supposed to handle situations like this, surely it was them?

"Toothless is right. This is no time to panic!" Fishlegs agreed, stilling his fraying nerves. He needed to. For Hiccup.

Distress was present on all of their faces, but the other four Riders nodded. They knew he was right.

"Snotlout, fetch me a tub of hot water. Tuffnut, we're going to need blankets. Ruffnut, go to Astrid's, I know the sharpest daggers are there. Astrid, Hiccup needs your level head." They had their instructions and three of them were off.

"Hiccup-"

"I know, I know. I want to be on the bed too." He was already climbing up. He figured he and Fishlegs were on the same wavelength about that.

Fishlegs grabbed the hem of his tunic.

"No! No, you don't! I'll do it myself." Though he knew the other only wanted to help, Hiccup wanted to retain some of his autonomy.

First, he pulled his pants off, his prosthetic had already been removed some time ago, and not having the fabric stick to his thighs was already a relief. After that, his tunic went.

Looking down, Hiccup almost expected he would be seeing something. As if there would be a much bigger bump or something, but still there was nothing there. Nothing besides the slight weight gain only noticeable when he wore nothing, like now.

How could there possibly be a baby, a whole new human being, growing inside of him? Inside of this scrawny thing he had the misfortune of calling a body?

How was any of this supposed to be real? How could it ever have the space needed to grow?

Was it possible it was... deformed? Because of him?

"Now what?" He asked, looking up to Fishlegs for advice and hoping to banish these horrible thoughts from his mind. No need dwelling on them and tormenting himself.

And judging by the expression Fishlegs and Astrid wore, it was almost like they could read his thoughts and like they agreed on at least one of them. They were expecting to see a sudden baby bump as well.

"Depends. What do you feel?" Fishlegs asked Hiccup.

"I don't know, but I'm feeling something." The latter fidgetted uncomfortably. A fire was burning on the ground floor, it wasn't cold in here. Even with the lack of clothing.

"Like you need to push?" Fishlegs giving that feeling a name helped Hiccup identify it and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's it."

"Then it may be time."

They waited for the missing three to return and then they followed Fishlegs' new instructions.

Astrid came to kneel next to Hiccup, taking an arm of his around her shoulder for support. Snotlout appeared at his other side to do the same, insisting that he wanted to help out as well.

Hookfang, Meatlug, Stormfly, Barf and Belch appeared in the doorway then, surprising Hiccup with their presence. The hut was big enough for all of them.

One of the Riders, while out on their fetch quest, must've gotten them from the stables and told them what was up as they couldn't imagine going through this without them. They were all together in this.

If anything, having more dragons around helped Hiccup relax as they waited for this new urge to grow to be irresistible enough.

And grow it did.

"Oh my... Freyja. I think I need to push." Snotlout and Astrid felt Hiccup's grip on them tighten. His contractions, painful and long, were just seconds apart. And along with them came the overwhelming need to just push.

He had their permission to squeeze their shoulders or any part of them that he could grab as hard as he needed to. They knew he needed something physical to hold onto, to keep him grounded.

"Wait, right now? Like, right now-right now?" Snotlout suddenly became a little uncertain.

"Yes, right now! I think it's coming." Hiccup needed to consciously keep control of his breathing. He could not start hyperventilating now. He couldn't start pushing yet, although his every fiber and instinct was screaming at him to do so.

"Oh-oh Gods... Oh, Gods." And there Snotlout went. He fainted and landed flat on his front.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup cried out in disbelieve. To think that he would abandon him in such trying times.

"Don't worry, I gotcha!" Ruffnut took his place without a second thought as Tuffnut grabbed the Jorgenson's arms to pull him out of the way and kindly propped him up against a wall.

"Now, I have no idea how gross childbirth is gonna be, but I'm ready. Whatever you need to do, whatever you need to let out, I'm here for you." Ruff's reassurance drew a tired and despairing chuckle out of Hiccup and caused Astrid to roll her eyes again.

"Before I push, I just wanna say thanks first. I don't think I'd able to do this any of this without you guys." Hiccup told his friends, though he felt the burning need to continue. In response, Ruffnut gave him a sloppy peck on his temple. She made sure to lick her lips beforehand.

"You can always count on us, Hiccup," Astrid replied with an encouraging smile. The rest of the Dragon Riders felt the same way. Had Snotlout been awake, he would share this sentiment.

"And for what it's worth... Yeah, you would've. You would've been able to handle this just fine on your own. You're Hiccup. You're gonna get through this. You always do." He wasn't expecting such loving words from Tuffnut and he wasn't sure how truthful they were, but he appreciated them greatly.

Feeling slightly better about this whole situation, Hiccup slightly adjusted his hold and braced himself. This was not going to be pleasant.

* * *

After all the pushing, the contractions, and the shouting from the pain and the effort, a baby's healthy crying sounded inside the hut about an hour after Hiccup's actual labor had started.

The moon lowered herself in the sky, dawn would be upon them soon as a stressful day and night came to an agonizingly slow end.

When Fishlegs first told him the news of his pregnancy, Hiccup wasn't sure what he was going to feel or think after it was all finally over. The true weight of his new reality never did quite sink in, in spite of everything.

But now he was sitting in bed with his baby, _his baby_ , held in his arms in front of him. As he stared, there was a swirling of emotions that he could hardly control.

There was confusion, relief, shock... But above all, there was a newfound love he couldn't explain. Love and wonder.

In his hands, he was holding a boy. A bloody and dirty boy since he'd only just been delivered, but Fishlegs' first diagnosis was that he was healthy.

Healthy and perfect.

Hiccup looked at the boy's two hands and saw ten fingers curled into fists. He looked at his feet and counted ten toes in total. He gazed at his son's face and saw a little button nose, the tiniest mouth imaginable, two closed eyes, two little ears, and a mess of matted down hair.

Perfect.

Not deformed at all, like he'd previously feared. The baby was okay and he was real.

How his scrawny self ever managed to hide him for nine months, he had absolutely no idea.

"Are you crying?” Astrid asked him softly as she draped a blanket over his shoulders. He was trembling, though they didn't quite know if it was from the stress put on his body, because he was getting cold, or both.

His vision was blurry at the edges. Wiping his eyes with a sleeve, he discovered that was exactly what he was doing. He was so tired he hadn't even noticed the tears.

"Apparently," Hiccup responded with a chuckle following afterward.

He didn't take his gaze away from the babe in his arms. And neither did Toothless, who was completely entranced with the tiny human that his Rider had just delivered. He was staring at him from over Hiccup's shoulder and purred softly at the child.

It was so small, so new. The love for his Rider doubled in strength and the same kind of love sparked for the baby, too. He couldn't look away.

With Ruffnut and Astrid each at one side to support Hiccup as he labored and Fishlegs as the group's healer, he had been the one to catch him as the baby left his parent. Catching him in his hands and holding him was an experience Fishlegs couldn't describe.

As for the boy, he was no longer crying, but still fussy. Or that is what they guessed, they were all completely new to this.

"Maybe you should..." Fishlegs wanted to suggest Hiccup hold the newborn close, but he beat him to it, moving the tiny child up to his chest. Hiccup figured that a baby might want to be held, as he was new to this world and immediately experiencing all of these things that he didn't know.

The baby settled almost immediately and fell asleep. He curled up within his birth parent's arms, he felt safe and warm.

Hiccup's breath hitched as his _son_ found solace with him.

He still needed to be cleaned, they both did, but Hiccup honestly couldn't care any less at that moment. Someone wiped his face dry and Hiccup looked next to him to find Astrid now sitting on the edge of the bed.

"He's so tiny." Snotlout stated as he stood at Hiccup's other side. He sniffed, the emotions were getting to him, too.

The Riders gathered around Hiccup and the baby to take a good look at the latter. Meanwhile, the Dragons waited impatiently on the ground floor for their turn.

"And so squishy-looking."

"But so cute." Ruffnut and Tuffnut were as much in a trance as everybody else was, they finished each other's sentences. The sight of this sudden baby moved something in all of them. Not one of them knew quite what to say.

"You know, I think I might actually..." Tuffnut couldn't help himself, he needed to turn away as his feelings overwhelmed him. Ruffnut shook her head and patted her brother's shoulder. Her own eyes were growing wet as well.

Snotlout huffed with a smile and wiped at his eyes.

"Do you want me to clean him?" Fishlegs offered, drying his own face, and Hiccup nodded, carefully handing the sleeping child over to him.

He didn't rouse as Fishlegs took him away from Hiccup, as he went down the stairs towards the tub, or even as he cautiously lowered him down into the water. Though, the child did fidget a little. The other Riders watched from the loft.

The Dragons had been watching their lead human as he labored, knowing there was little they could do. They were standing by the entrance of the hut as they waited.

Now that Fishlegs was so kind as to bring the freshly born young down with him, they took this chance.

"Oh, be careful! And quiet!" Fishlegs hushed the four of them as their intentions were quickly made clear when they all gathered around the wooden bathtub.

Meatlug skipped closer. She was pretty much wiggling with excitement, bubbling in her want to see Hiccup's offspring. She quieted as she sat down and stared into the tub. Her heart melted instantly. In her own draconic way, she seemed to coo at him.

Stormfly, Barf and Belch popped up on either side of her. Each enamored with Hiccup's son. They were curious and so full of love. Belch needed to hold himself in. It was the Zippleback way to make sparks in moments of joy, though it was usually for Zippleback hatchlings.

Stormfly made a very peculiar sound, but nothing the Riders weren't familiar with. They had heard Nadders make that clicking sound before, had heard Stormfly make it before. They made it as they greeted new draconic young.

Hookfang, meanwhile, was the only one who took Fishlegs' words seriously. He treaded lightly, almost sneaking up to the tub Meatlug's human partner was washing their leader's hatchling in. He rumbled happily.

"I know right?! He's so sweet!" Fishlegs wasn't quite sure that was what Hookfang was saying, but he agreed either way.

The Nightmare raised his head and saw Hiccup was watching. He gave him a warble in approval, he was proud of him.

"He's right. You did great. You know that, right?" Astrid told Hiccup as she pulled him in for an embrace. He greatly appreciated it, laying his head on her shoulder while she rested her head on his. He closed his eyes.

"Yeah, you did." Snotlout agreed and joined in on the hug.

"You were out for like the first five minutes."

"Shut up, Tuffnut."

"Anyway, you were awesome, H. Seriously." Tuff and Ruff threw their arms around the other three as well. The four of them made sure Hiccup was right in the middle and he didn't mind.

He felt filthy, he was sweaty, but it was good to be held. He smiled and simply enjoyed their presence. This had been a tiring night, but he knew everything would be okay now.

Just being here with them, held by them, he was already almost asleep.

"Is he falling asleep?" Snotlout asked, noticing that Hiccup was going limp in their hold.

"Yeah, he is," Astrid replied and shifted her position slightly to support Hiccup better without rousing him too much.

"Good, let him." This short exchange was ended by Ruffnut. They didn't let go.

"Oh, here he is!" Fishlegs came back up the stairs about half an hour later and that's when they let Hiccup go. He wasn't quite gone yet, but it still took him a good couple of seconds to wake up again, Astrid steadied him as he rubbed in his eyes.

Coming to, Hiccup saw Fishlegs holding a freshly washed babe heedfully in his arms.

The first thing he noticed as the Riders let go of him and allowed him to take the boy back into his arms was how red his hair turned out to be. It was red and thick and a complete tangled mess.

"Hey, he inherited Hiccup's tousled hair! He truly is your son!" Tuffnut called out, causing the others to look at him funny. He dodged out of the way of Astrid's fist.

"Of course, he's Hiccup's! He just pushed him out!" She hissed defensively and quietly, not wanting to wake the baby. Hiccup wasn't paying attention, completely engrossed in the fully developed human being that was his blood.

Ever so gently, Toothless leaned in closer and sniffed the boy. He could smell his Rider all over him and his heart skipped a beat. He gave the human young just the tiniest lick. The baby's face scrunched up a little.

"Bud, please, Fishlegs just washed him." Hiccup gave him a light scolding, but the Night Fury simply responded by nuzzling him and purring.

Hiccup's attention was soon back on his son.

This was a whole new person that his body had created. In secret, clearly. He was a part of him, a part of the Dragon Riders, and evidently a part of Stoick as well, judging by the fierce color of his hair.

And then another realization entered his mind that made his tired smile falter.

How was he ever going to tell his father about what happened that night?


	4. Unwanted Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the baby born, the Dragon Riders thought they could finally relax. They were wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ended up taking such a long time to write because I wanted to finish most of this fic before posting it. I did get until halfway through chapter 5 (this is technically still chapter 3 and not 4) before I started to feel insecure about the previous chapters. So I decided to drop that method and just go chapter by chapter, posting every part I finish instead of saving them all up.  
> Ended up revising the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 as well. All three of them are slightly longer.  
> Also, ended up rewatching this three-parter ('Dawn of Destruction' to 'Wings of War, Part 2') because I had trouble deciding how much of those episodes I wanted to involve in this fic that was supposed to focus on Hiccup, Tiny, and the Dragon Riders.
> 
> Anyway, that is why it took so long for this chapter to come. Chapter 4 is already 4k words, so next update might not take as long as this one did.
> 
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

As what little remained of the night made way for dawn, the sun colored the sky in bright shades of oranges and pinks as it slowly rose on the horizon.

The Riders were still at Hiccup's and Toothless', quietly conversing on the ground floor as the new parent and babe rested in the loft above them after a refreshing bath. Both of them were exhausted after the night they just had. If anyone in this hut deserved their rest, it were the two of them.

The Dragon Riders were tired, too, but that didn't stop them from discussing some matters they thought important.

It was morning anyway, returning to their homes for some shut-eye was meaningless when certain responsibilities needed tending to. Patrols came to mind as well as the annual dragon census that was to begin later that day. And with Hiccup in need of rest and with a baby now depending on him, they would need to share his workload for the time being, too, something not even Snotlout minded considering the reason why.

Not that anyone of them seemed up for some sleep. The birth of what was surely going to be a future dragon rider, the birth of one of their own, a new member to their crazy family, was going to keep them awake either way.

So for now, they were content with just taking a moment to simply sit and talk.

"Who's the dad, though?" Ruffnut whispered to the others. They were all seated at the table, helping themselves to something to drink and eat for breakfast. Sleep wasn't coming, but hunger was gnawing at them all.

"Uh, Hiccup?" Tuffnut responded, wondering himself.

"No, I mean the other dad. You need at least two people to make a whole baby, bro." Ruffnut clarified and gulped down the contents of her mug.

"Although, Hiccup could probably do it on his own. Being made of magic and all that." She mused.

"It's me, obviously. I mean, did you see that baby? A boy that strong can only come from a Jorgenson such as myself." Snotlout smugly claimed and pointed at himself with a smirk. He kicked back.

"I don't know, he's kinda tiny," Tuffnut replied with his mouth full.

"Uh, duh! Because he's all Hiccup and _not_ at all "all Snotlout". Like, have you seen him? And have you seen that cutie? In no way are the two of them related!" Ruffnut retorted as she gestured to Snotlout and the upstairs respectively, snickering even as the former glared at her.

"None of us have really been as careful as we should have been, it could have been any of us," Fishlegs stated matter-of-factly. He was calm about it, the prospect of having possibly fathered a child in one of his best human friends didn't seem to bother him at all. Or Tuffnut or Snotlout for that matter.

"I'll tell you who the dad is, I am." Astrid piped up next as she drank from her mug, smiling as nothing could ruin this day for her. In her mind she was already quite a few years ahead in the future, imagining herself teaching the newborn how to properly use an axe.

"Uuh, I don't think it works that way, A," Tuffnut spoke, confused on how that would've worked.

"Of course, it doesn't! My point is, we're in this together. Aren't we? It's our baby." She asked the other Riders, who all seemed to agree without a single doubt in their minds. The Dragons, though they knew they needed to be quiet, gave chirps and warbles in agreement.

It wasn't like this was the first baby they'd ever taken care of, either. Okay, the others were all dragon hatchlings that grew up within a matter of a year, but how different could they be? Surely they'd be able to figure a human baby out as well.

"Anyway, I'm going to see if Hiccup needs anything to eat. He hasn't had anything since the day before yesterday. If he's awake, he's going to be hungry." Astrid figured, grabbing another plate and plenty of bread and cheese for him to enjoy.

Though she knew he never had much of an appetite, he might make an exception after having had nothing to eat for a whole two nights and a day. Besides, with a baby to feed, his body was going to need all the food it could get.

Excusing herself from the table, she left the four of them and made her way up the stairs. To her surprise Hiccup was still awake. He was leaning back against Toothless after the Night Fury had settled himself behind his Rider.

"Don't feel like sleeping yet or did we wake you up?" She asked, pulling up a stool to place the plate with food on.

"Eh, more of the former, really. I tried to sleep, but I'm wide awake." Hiccup shrugged. There was a certain sluggishness in the way he spoke and acted. He was clearly tired, but something was keeping him up.

Astrid figured it might have to do with a certain new Haddock-to-be. Hiccup barely took his eyes off the child, who slept comfortably on his parent's chest.

After his bath, he still wasn't wearing anything. The only pants he owned were tight and Hiccup didn't feel like wearing one for once. Fishlegs had also informed him earlier that Gothi once told him skin-to-skin contact was an important way for parent and child to bond.

All that covered the two of them were furs. And with Toothless right there and a fire burning downstairs, it wasn't like they were going to get cold.

And besides, who was going to care? It wasn't anything anybody present here hadn't seen before with communal bathings amongst friends and with how intimate they'd grown to be these past months.

"Well, in that case, if you need anything to eat, I've brought you some breakfast. I figured you'd be starving." She offered, gesturing towards the plate she'd put down.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." His stomach growled on cue. For once, he was as hungry as a happy Gronckle in an ore mine. Or Snotlout during a buffet.

Carefully repositioning the child to attempt to hold him to his body with only one arm, Hiccup pulled the stool with his breakfast closer.

Astrid, meanwhile, took a seat on the bed near him and with a finger gingerly stroked the baby's cheek.

"He is the most adorable thing I have ever seen." She spoke.

"He is, isn't he?" Hiccup agreed, letting out a happy sigh.

But Hiccup's smile waned and the face he wore then was more of a worried one.

“What do I even tell dad?” He asked, clueless. Astrid needed to think about this one.

No matter how Stoick was going to find out about his freshly born grandson, he was going to be shocked. Nobody could quite tell how he might react. It didn't help that, last time he saw Hiccup, his son hadn't been pregnant then. The fact that Hiccup hadn't known he was expectant himself may not be all that helpful either.

Hiccup feared his father was going to think him irresponsible or unfit to be a parent and would judge him. Either for not being careful enough or for missing an entire pregnancy.

“I'd say don't just “tell him", you know? Like, “hurray! you're a grandfather!” or something." Hiccup gave her a look as Astrid waved happily with her hands to go along with her impression.

"Send him a message, maybe ask him to come to the Edge, and show him here. Berk won't have to know just yet, we'll be on our turf, and you'll be surrounded by friends. We all share a responsibility in this.” Astrid suggested and Hiccup found himself taking a liking to the idea, nodding.

“Um, yeah. Yeah! That sounds like a good idea.” Stoick would be on his son's territory, not his own. That would help Hiccup feel a lot more secure and comfortable when he would inevitably tell him the truth.

With her idea accepted, Astrid allowed her smile to take on a more teasing appearance.

“Can you tell me something? Were you going to tell him exactly that? Were you really going to write him a letter saying "Hurray, you're a granddad now" with a big smiley face at the end?”

“Uh, no! Of course not!” She could tell that was pretty much what he had in mind at first, maybe minus the smiley part. Astrid rolled her eyes, but her amusement stayed.

"How are Hiccup and Tiny, my two bestest buds in the whole wide world, doing?" Tuffnut asked as the others ascended the last few steps up the stairs with him. Breakfast was over and they had heard Hiccup was still awake.

Instead of answering, Hiccup stared at him with his mouth agape. He seemed taken off guard by something.

"I'm sorry, who?" He asked, blinking in surprise.

"You and Tiny," Tuffnut repeated with a gargantuan smile on his face.

"Repeat that again please?"

"You and-" Tuffnut was slightly more hesitant this time, his smile faltering.

"That last part!"

"Tiny!"

Hiccup let out a deep and surprisingly aggravated sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose in overwhelming disappointment.

"We are, under no circumstances, naming this child "Tiny"!" He decided as he pointed towards the baby, taking an instant dislike to this name. He didn't even like it as a nickname.

"Well, we have to name this baby something!" Ruffnut responded as she crossed her arms. She liked Tiny, they all did. She didn't know why Hiccup would have such a dislike for it.

"We can just go with.. With, uh.." Hiccup tried to think of something, but he couldn't. Naming his son on the spot wasn't easy. It didn't seem right either. He looked down at the child, but nothing came to mind.

This was his firstborn. He couldn't just randomly think of a name!

"Baby T!" Snotlout happily suggested.

"No."

"Baby H!" Tuffnut followed up after Snotlout's got rejected.

"We are not naming this baby after me either." It would seem like Hiccup thought one of him was already bad enough. Despite the baby's small size, he wasn't going to give him a runt's name.

"Than I've got nothing." Tuffnut shrugged, feeling defeated.

Sighing deeply again and rubbing in his eyes, Hiccup came to a temporary decision.

"We're gonna call him... Baby. For now. Until I find something better that isn't about his size." Hiccup decided.

"Ah, I see. Hiccup's "I was named Hiccup at birth" complex." Snotlout muttered contemplatively over to Fishlegs. Hiccup stared at him, not in the least bit amused.

"I think it's time we go and leave Hiccup and the baby alone." Figuring that enough was probably enough, Astrid shooed the Riders down from the loft so Hiccup could eat his meal and grumble about his Riders in peace.

"Wait, do we call Hiccup Tiny's mom or dad?" Tuffnut asked as they descended after their short shipwreck of a visit, immediately using the nickname Hiccup did not want anyone to use. But he asked because he genuinely wanted to know.

"That's up to Hiccup, I guess? We'll ask once he's cooled down a little." Ruffnut spoke, holding her hands up.

"Still dad, Tuff! And for the last time. Not. Tiny!" Hiccup raised his voice.

Looking down, he noticed the child in his hold hadn't awoken at least once during their exchange. He seemed to be in a deep sleep. Or so Hiccup assumed, knowing very little about the smallest of humans.

He wondered how many hours a day newborns slept.

Maybe they should go to Berk in a couple of days, once he was rested enough to take a flight of nearly two whole days. Frightful of his father's reaction or not, it would be useful to hear some advice from him and other parents. Gothi could take a look at his baby, too, and make sure he was okay.

Deciding that he was going to tell the Riders after breakfast, Hiccup was just about to take a bite out of his first meal since a light dinner the day before yesterday when a loud banging noise shook them all.

Hiccup's hold on Tiny tightened instinctively.

That loud sound woke the baby up. Jumping in his father's hold, Tiny started wailing loudly, startled by the deafening noise.

"What the Hel..." Snotlout mumbled. Everyone froze and Toothless quickly rose his head, ear fins perked. He'd been in a slumber before it happened.

"What was that?" Fishlegs asked anxiously and another soon followed. They quickly recognized those sounds. After the battles they'd waged so far, it was hard not to. The Dragons chattered unnervingly and stared up to the ceiling.

"They're explosions. Hiccup, stay put!" Astrid ordered him and ran to open the hatch and see for herself what was going on. Stormfly walked over to her side, chittering uneasily.

Hiccup leaned over, hoping to catch a glimpse as he tried to calm the distressed infant down. Toothless was angry, he was growling. Though, the source of the noise wasn't known yet, he had a bad feeling about this.

What Astrid saw as she stood at the entrance were Singetails attacking dragons Edge. There were several of them, an entire pack.

Stormfly chirped in alarm, her wings fluttered, and she immediately headbutted her Rider to tell her to get into the saddle already. Hookfang let out a roar of his own and stomped with a wing, as if calling to Snotlout.

"Singetails!" Astrid informed the others.

"Singetails?! Ugh, I hate to those guys! Have they come to claim the Edge?" Snotlout asked as he ran to his Nightmare's side, remembering the last time he'd gotten into a turf war with another one of these dragons on what was once almost called Storehouse Island.

It hadn't been pleasant, this species was very territorial and they did not like to lose.

What they did like was calling their friends for back-up. The Dragon Riders needed to take care of this before they could. Leaving this island wasn't an option right now.

"Astrid..." Hiccup called to her in concern.

"Don't worry, Hiccup, we'll take care of this. We're not going to let them take what is ours and we're going to keep the two of you safe." She reassured him as she could see he needed it and ran outside to climb up into the saddle. Stormfly was waiting impatiently for her.

The other Dragon Riders swiftly followed her and Stormfly's example.

Once they were all saddled up and ready to go within seconds, they took off to face the Singetails head-on with their fatigue forgotten.

Hiccup hated that he couldn't go, but he knew his priorities lied elsewhere.

With him currently unable to fly and Toothless unable to take to the sky without his Rider, it was up to the rest of them to keep their home away from home safe.

They were all more than capable, each and every one of them, but one Singetail was already a great foe. So a whole group of these dragons would be a challenge, even for them. And this time, it wasn't just the Edge that they were protecting.

It wasn't just that Hiccup was out of the commission, though they absolutely wanted to keep him safe, without a doubt. It was also the presence of the newly born baby that made them determined to keep this island safe.

"Okay, Dragon Riders-" Astrid spoke as they gathered in the sky.

"No time for inspirational speeches, Astrid! These dragons are relentless and we need to take the fight to them. We have to hold our ground and be as unflinching as they are." Snotlout shouted, stopping her from giving them one of her speeches.

Astrid's look was one of determination. She didn't mind the other interrupting her. Instead, she agreed.

"This is going to be a hard one. We have to chase these Singetails away, but we can't stray too far away from Hiccup and Baby." Just calling the newborn "Baby" didn't sound right and Ruffnut stuck out her tongue, but the plan was clear. Defeat the Singetails without leaving the hut unprotected. It wasn't going to be easy, but they were willing to try.

"This is going to be epic!" Tuffnut yelled, throwing his fists up in the air.

"Yes, it is! Now let's go kick some Singetail ass!" Ruffnut agreed and the two of them flew into the fray along with Barf and Belch.

"To Valhalla and beyond!"

"Snotlout and Hookfang!" Snotlout shouted the names of himself and his dragon as a battle mantra as he joined them and Hookfang almost appeared to be doing the same, roaring in tandem. Fishlegs released a battle cry of his own and Meatlug put on a brave face.

With just the two of them left, Astrid addressed Stormfly.

"Let's try to stay closeby, girl. Plenty of Singetails for us here." She spoke and her Nadder chittered agreeingly.

Any battle was chaotic and no matter how determined they were to protect their leader's hut, it would be hard to stay nearby whilst being chased, giving chase, or dodging attacks. Astrid hoped she and Stormfly would have better luck while the others took care of the other Singetails.

It was as the Dragon Riders engaged the pack of Singetails that they made a shocking discovery along the way.

They evaded their blasts and dished out some of their own. There was no clear winner so far, but the Dragon Riders were struggling to keep up. Their foes outnumbered them two to one.

"Ugh, I'm so sick of this yak dung! Why are we even running from these things?" Snotlout complained. He and Hookfang, Fishlegs and Meatlug, they were being chased by a couple of them.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because they're ruthless, out to kill, and outnumber us?" Fishlegs suggested angrily and sarcastically.

"But why are we running from them?" Snotlout was referring to something else. At that moment, the twins and their Zippleback happened to be joining them after losing a couple of Singetails of their own.

"All right, Snotlout! I like that idea!" Ruffnut spoke.

"Let's do this, guys!" Snotlout yelled out and Fishlegs whimpered uncertainly on top of Meatlug.

Deciding to turn this situation around, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barch suddenly turned around on their chasers for a surprise attack. There was no time for the Singetails to react, it would've been perfect, but that's when they made their shocking discovery.

They had riders of their own.

"Guys, I think I saw someone riding one of those Singetails," Fishlegs confessed, confused and stunned.

"No, you didn't, Fishlegs. You saw someone riding all of those Singetails." Snotlout corrected him, just as perturbed.

The seven Dragon Riders looked behind them again to make sure they weren't just seeing things.

They saw strangers riding on their backs with masks covering their faces. With chains and whips, they kept the Singetails from fighting for their freedom and bent them to their will. These people were on the one part of this dragon that they couldn't shoot fire out of.

So it turned out this wasn't just the work of a random pack of dragons that so happened to come across the Edge and thought it a suitable new home for them and quite possibly their young. This was an organized attack. For some reason, these strangers were targeting them.

But who did they belong to? What side were they on? What reason did they have to attack them?

They certainly weren't Dragon Hunters come in search of vengeance. None of Viggo's men quite dressed the way they did and they would rather die a painful and horrible death than follow in the footsteps of the Dragon Riders they despised for even a tiny little bit. Not even for all the gold and riches in the world.

These people, whoever they worked for wasn't the late Viggo Grimborn.

But now was not the time to be thinking of such things. There would be time later to figure out the details. After they made sure the Edge, Hiccup, and their baby was safe.

For now, they just needed to focus on keeping them at bay, though they were two essential members short.

"We have to tell Astrid." Snotlout decided and headed straight for Hiccup's hut.

They tried not to stray too far as they fought, but in all this chaos, it had been hard. Astrid and Stormfly were having more luck staying near their huts and that is where they met up.

"Astrid," Snotlout shouted, drawing her attention after Stormfly grabbed a rider and ripped him right off the Singetail's back before throwing him away like a ragdoll.

"If you came to tell me that people are riding these dragons than you're too late, Snotlout. We noticed them, too." Astrid spoke, a scowl on her face as she and her Nadder headed towards the next duo to separate.

This was a startling development she didn't appreciate. A random attack by a pack of Singetails was one thing, but a random attack by a pack of hostile dragon riders was something else entirely. She already hated what this could possibly imply.

One thing was for certain, however. This was information that Hiccup needed to know, this changed everything. They needed to retreat from the battle and regroup. It was for the best. Hiccup needed to be brought up to speed. That way they could discuss their next course of action and decide what needed to be done next. Even though he needed to recover, the final decision was still up to him.

"Dragon Riders, we're falling back for now. Head for Hiccup and Toothless!" Astrid shouted her order and Stormfly immediately performed a barrel roll to turn and fly towards the home belonging to their leader. The others followed suit as more explosions and blasts sounded deafeningly loud behind them.


	5. The Masked Stranger And Difficulties Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Dragon Riders in a battle with the Flyers, Hiccup may need to make the decision to abandon the Edge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter only JUST didn't make it to 6k! :'D  
> Wasn't so sure about a certain scene in this chapter because I know it's often seen as "icky" in public even though it's honestly one of the most natural things in the world. So yeah, Hiccup's gonna be feeding the baby for the first time in this one. If you don't want to read about that, ignore the second scene.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

Hiccup watched, unnerved, as dust fell from the ceiling when his hut shook again following the sound of another explosion. That last blast had been much too close for comfort.

He trusted the other Dragon Riders to keep them safe and chase the invading pack away, he really did, but he was still itching to get dressed and go somewhere else. With each new blast, he feared the possibility of his hut collapsing right on top of them and he quickly had enough of waiting for the others to handle it.

He didn't feel safe, he felt like he was testing his luck. And with a newborn baby to look after, a lack of the safety that he craved was suddenly a hundred times worse than it usually would be.

He was already wearing the clean tunic and pants that Fishlegs had provided him with and his boot had been pulled on. He was finishing tying his prosthetic leg in place as he sat on the stool that stood next to his bed, the same one Astrid had previously placed his breakfast one.

The meal still hadn't been eaten from, it remained untouched and forgotten on the floor.

Toothless was still on the bed. Tiny lied on the soft furs and he rested between the Night Fury's forelegs while Hiccup dressed. He was keeping watch over him, his big head and neck hiding him from the dust that fell.

Should something happen, like the roof coming down on the three of them or something similar, Hiccup could at least rest easy knowing Toothless would be there to look after the baby.

Hiccup just finished pulling his pegleg on and stood when the entrance to his hut opened again. Astrid was the first to enter, followed by everyone else. The Dragons remained outside.

"Hiccup, you and the baby have to leave." She spoke, there was urgency in her voice. Her brows were furrowed, there was a deep worry, almost a panic, that she tried to keep under wraps.

"Wait, what? Why? What happened?" He asked, already fearing the worst. If there was some new development then he wanted to know.

"There are Singetails with people riding them, Hiccup! And there are too many of them!" Fishlegs shouted as he raced up the stairs to meet with him. He wanted to be near him and their newest addition.

"We're losing the Edge if we keep this up, Hiccup! We need to come up with a new plan and get you and Tiny out of here as fast as we can." Snotlout added. They'd come to inform him of the discovery they'd made as they battled the invading forces, but they also weren't blind to the fact that Hiccup and Tiny couldn't be kept safe here. They needed a new strategy and they needed the two of them gone.

"How are we gonna do that, though? They are literally everywhere?" Ruffnut asked as she was utterly clueless. She didn't see Hiccup getting up on Toothless and flying out of here with a baby strapped to his chest.

Oh sure, he looked better now that he wore a fresh outfit, but he looked like he was about to fall over. He was still exhausted and his skin was even paler than it already was. And by the way he subconsciously rocked from his real foot to his fake and back so restlessly, she could tell just standing there brought him great discomfort.

Nothing felt right with his body. He felt sore and strangely empty in his gut, like something was suddenly missing or out of place. His abdomen was all sorts of messed up. Understandably, because Tiny having no space to grow in the past nine months meant that everything on the inside got moved around more so than usual.

The truth was, physically, he felt absolutely awful. Even more than he was trying to let on.

Hiccup wished their current predicament could take his mind off of it, off his body not feeling right, but it didn't. So he was left to try in vain to ignore it and focus on what was most important.

"We'll find a way." Upon hearing Ruffnut's concern on how they could possibly get father and child out of here, Astrid felt like reassuring her. She knew she would've liked someone to reassure her.

This situation was a first for them all. An attack by other dragon riders and the birth of a baby would've each been difficult to deal with on their own, let alone when they were together.

“Uh, what’re you doing?” Tuffnut asking Hiccup this question caused everyone present to look up at him.

He was pulling his pauldrons and chest piece on as if getting ready for a fight.

They watched him descend the stairs in shock and almost growing despair, Fishlegs remained up on the loft. The Dragons were quite stumped as well, though they weren't entirely surprised.

“I have a plan.” He stated and finished pulling his leather armor back on. It felt slightly less tight already.

The Dragon Riders had come here hoping that Hiccup would come up with something clever, but they hadn't expected this.

“No, no, you don’t. You don’t have a plan and you're removing your armor. Right now!” Astrid was quick to argue, moving to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips. As if she was a wall that he wouldn’t be getting past, much like Toothless the morning before. She didn’t like what Hiccup was implying.

“Astrid,” He was cut off by an explosion before he could continue.

His roof creaked awfully and shook again. Immediately looking back towards the bed in a panic, he noticed that his son was already being picked up by a worried Fishlegs. He felt relieved.

“Someone is out there attacking the Edge with their men, I need to be out there as well. If-“ Hiccup wasn't given the time to explain himself.

“No, you don’t, Hiccup. You just had a baby! The last person who’s going out there to fight is you. You need to rest!” Astrid cut him off, throwing a hand up.

“And, you know, baby Tiny. Because babies don’t fly dragons. Unless they do. Which I kinda wanna see now.” Tuffnut and his nervous ramblings weren’t quite as helpful this time.

Hiccup tried to continue.

“Anyway, I know that I need rest, but-“

“No buts! Your scrawny ass stays on the ground!” Snotlout was on Astrid’s side on this one. A rarity. The two barely ever saw eye to eye with each other.

“Guys, let me explain myself.” Hiccup did not have the time or the energy to argue with them.

“No!” Snotlout stood his ground, crossing his arms decisively.

“Let me finish!” The Riders stared at him in surprise. It was rare to hear him be so forceful, but Hiccup needed to speak his mind.

"This can't just be a random attack from an organized group of dragon riders. There's a chance they know who we are, know who I am. If I don’t go out there and they notice I’m missing, there's a chance they will try to find out why." Astrid listened to Hiccup talk with a scowl, peeved, but she couldn't say that he didn't make a valid point.

Their foes could've heard about Hiccup, the rider of a Night Fury. Seeing neither him, nor his dragon, might raise suspicion if they did.

"Any of them catch me with Ti-with the baby, who isn’t called Tiny, they could try and use him as leverage against us or they could hurt him and I can’t let that happen." Nobody liked that he was right. Again. No one could bear to see their baby hurt.

But what was this plan that Hiccup wanted to tell them about?

"I’m gonna have to ask one of you take him off the island and flee to the Defenders of the Wing while I lead the rest in battle.” Hiccup explained. And then the rest would have to follow once Tiny was out of harm’s way.

Hiccup knew he wouldn’t last long in a fight without at least some proper sleep and he wasn’t about to leave three Dragons and three to four Riders to deal with an army of dragon riders. It was clear they came with only one purpose.

Take the Edge and possibly whichever Dragon Rider they could find.

He wasn’t about to let them take his son or his friends.

“Okay, but why don’t you flee? Toothless is a Night Fury! The fastest dragon here!" Astrid argued.

“Same problem. They might wonder where I am.” Hiccup replied and sat down on a nearby chair. Sitting didn't make him feel any better. Lying down earlier hadn't been all that comfortable either.

Astrid huffed, annoyed. She wanted to pace as this didn't sit well with her. The fact that he was right only made it worse.

“I don’t know, Hiccup…” Fishlegs wasn’t entirely convinced yet. He descended the stairs, baby boy wrapped in furs still in his hold.

“Trust me, Fishlegs. If I could think of any other way-” Another explosion and the ground shook, followed by the sounds of something closeby collapsing. By the direction the sounds were coming from, it was Astrid’s hut.

“If I had any other ideas, I would’ve told you guys.” Hiccup shrugged in defeat.

“So who takes Tiny?” Ruffnut asked. That was what needed to be taken care of next.

Hiccup suppressed his agitation upon hearing the nickname he forbid them to use. This wasn’t the time.

“I will take him. Stormfly is the second fastest, we can get him to Mala and it will cut the time Hiccup needs to battle short.” That and she probably wasn’t ready yet to trust any dragon-riding pair that weren’t Hiccup and Toothless with the health and safety of a newborn baby. She didn't say it out loud because she didn't mean anything bad by it. How to care for an infant was something they all needed to get used to.

“Take the tunnels and wait until you hear us engage the enemy. With any luck, you’ll be able to sneak away undetected while we keep them busy." Hiccup told her and Astrid nodded. It was otherwise silent amongst the Riders.

Another blast, this time right next to the hut they were all in, startled them all.

"Be careful, okay? You won't be able to hold out for long. Besides giving birth, you haven't eaten, and you haven't slept. So be careful." Astrid requested as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We won't let anything happen to him." It was rare for Snotlout to be as genuine as he was now, but she appreciated the reassurance.

Fishlegs approached Hiccup.

"Do you want to hold him for a little bit before Astrid leaves?" He offered and Hiccup shot up despite how awful he felt. But as he reached out, his hands merely hovered.

It wasn't that he didn't want to hold him, but looking at his son's sleeping face made him realize a big problem. If he held him now, could he let go again when Astrid was to leave in another moment or two?

"No, I can't." Hiccup shook his head, averting his gaze and taking a couple of steps back.

Gods, he couldn't start crying again. He didn't even know why he was being so emotional. He was going to see his child again very soon. If all went right, they wouldn't be separated for longer than an hour or so.

Snotlout gave Hiccup a look, but Astrid understood the way he felt and squeezed his shoulder.

A warm blanket was wrapped around Tiny and a sling was improvised for Astrid to carry him in. As most of the Dragon Riders rushed out of the hut to meet the Singetails and their riders head-on, she and Stormfly were all that were left.

Before leaving, Hiccup took a quick moment to look back at his second-in-command.

"Watch yourselves, okay?" He asked, showing the fear he felt. Astrid gave him a reassuring nod. It didn't ease his heart as much as he would've wanted it to, but he appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

Tiny was only a couple of hours old and Hiccup already needed to leave him for the very first time. He despised that.

But Hiccup left the hut together with Toothless and quickly climbed into the saddle. Astrid turned his attention to Tiny.

"Listen here, Tiny, everything's going to be okay. Hiccup's going to be right back." She told him and gingerly stroked the sleeping infant's head softly as Stormfly chirped and lowered herself. This allowed her Rider to get up on her back with ease.

They snuck away quietly and Stormfly chose the cover of the trees to reach the cave system they were told to take. Dragon's Edge had many, it shouldn't be hard to find them.

Up in the sky, the rest of the Dragon Riders gathered around the Night Fury and his Rider.

"Okay, Riders! Fend off the Flyers and their Singetails and watch each other's backs. Protecting the Edge isn't our priority today." Hiccup told his remaining friends. They took his orders without question even in the condition that he was in.

Not protecting the Edge left a bad taste in their mouths after all they'd done to protect it, but they knew there was no other choice. It was either them or an island.

The other Dragon Riders left and Hiccup took a look around himself to see the situation they were dealing with, with his own two eyes. He grew nervous.

"There are a lot of them, Bud." Toothless rumbled uneasily in agreement. Hiccup could feel it from his position. It was a little bit comforting.

But he hoped Astrid and Stormfly would hurry up. The Dragon Riders were technically four down with them gone and Hiccup, to some extension Toothless, in no shape to be of much help.

But the two of them dove into the fray nonetheless. Their strategy would be mostly based on evasive maneuvers, but Toothless' plasma blasts would still be a great help.

Several of the Singetails and their riders were upon them almost instantly.

"Toothless!" The Night Fury didn't need to be warned, he saw them coming. Hoping that Hiccup had it in him to hold on tight, he folded his wings and dove right past them.

Spreading his wings again and turning, he send one of the Flyers flying with a well-aimed plasma blast.

"Good job, Bud. Now we just gotta take care of the others." Hiccup told him and Toothless was already sending another plummeting to the ground with a second blast.

The third one, however, made his Singetail rear up by pulling on its chains and the dragon took the brunt of the hit.

It was a cowardly act that took both Dragon and Rider by surprise and they looked on in anger, evading an attack from the side in just the nick of time. Turning what was supposed to be your partner, your friend, into a living shield. What a despicable thing to do.

"Come on, Bud." Toothless gave a growl in agreement. Singetails may have many places they could shoot fire from, but they learned since their last encounter that Night Furies were still faster.

They just needed to reach its back and the cowardly rider was quickly removed along with the chains it was hurting the Singetail with. The dragon was free.

But no matter how many they took out of the sky, the strategy behind this attack was clearly to outnumber the Dragon Riders.

Performing a barrel roll and passing some enemies, Toothless turned to remove them from the sky. As they were sent falling, Hiccup took a look around to check on the others. His friends were holding their ground, but it was clear they were getting their asses handed to them.

Sighing deeply, Hiccup felt fatigue creeping up on him fast and so far they hadn't seen Astrid and Stormfly leave yet. So his only choice was to keep going.

Toothless gave him a croon of worry.

"I'm fine, Toothless. I can hold on." Or he hoped so at least. Besides being exhausted far beyond his limit, he was hungry, thirsty, and sore in places he never thought he'd ever be sore in and wished he would never be again.

Other Singetails were coming for them and though Snotlout was following up on his promise to Astrid to look out for them, there were still those the Night Fury and his human needed to take care of themselves. All the Dragon Riders stayed relatively close, they weren't straying too far away from the leading duo.

It hurt to see Dragon's Edge go up in flames after all the work they had put into it. This was their home and there was fire and smoke everywhere.

There was nothing they could do for their base. Hiccup could only hope they would be back in time to help the dragons still inhabiting this island. With any luck, the Night Terrors would be able to hold out until they returned.

There was a thick plume of smoke in their way. Coming to a sudden halt, Hiccup and Toothless watched as a gigantic Singetail doom up from within.

A Titanwing.

And on top of his back?

A man Hiccup could recognize from anywhere.

His smug face brought with it many unpleasant memories of a certain dragon auction and that time bounty hunters had taken Hiccup from his home for the high price Viggo had put on his head.

This man, he was the one who had put a chain around his neck and dragged him around like a slave.

He still felt the metal around his throat every night as he went to sleep.

"Hiccup!" Snotlout called his name just before Hookfang spewed his fire to make the Titanwing back off.

Snapping out of it, Hiccup focussed back on the present.

"What are you doing?!" Snotlout asked as Hookfang leveled out next to Toothless.

"I know that guy." Hiccup told him and absentmindedly placed a hand on his belly. The masked stranger's surprising reappearance didn't just bring a bunch of bad memories to the forefront of his mind, but a terrible realization as well.

Snotlout did a double-take, but the stranger and the Titanwing were already gone.

"Doesn't matter now. Has anybody seen Astrid yet?" He asked. They would have to worry about that mystery guy later.

"Hiccup!" As if on cue, a Gronckle gurgled loudly and Fishlegs called his name. The four of them looked over to see him pointing at something. Gazing in that direction, they saw something flying away in the far distance.

Astrid, Stormfly, and the baby. They managed to get away safely. By the looks of it, none of these hostile riders took notice.

Hiccup let out a sigh of relief. It was time to leave, he didn't need to keep fighting anymore.

"Then we fall back to Defenders of the Wing Island." He decided, fatigue obvious in his voice, and the rest of the Dragon Riders followed.

The men on the Singetails attempted to follow, but the familiar man riding the Titanwing made them halt.

"Let them go! The island is ours and Viggo needs time." He shouted to his men, the Riders were already too far away to hear him speak of the Dragon Hunter they believed to be dead.

Looking back, however, something nagged relentlessly at Hiccup. He stared past the Titanwing and past the Singetails at his hut. It was the only one not on fire. Yet.

"Surprising." The stranger spoke as he watched the Dragon Riders leave.

"I thought they would put up more of a-" He didn't get to finish that sentence as the Rider of the Night Fury looked back again. The two of them turned and for a moment it looked to the invaders like the Dragon Riders weren't done fighting yet.

But as they flew out there to meet Hiccup and Toothless head-on, the two passed them by with ease and instead blasted the very last hut still standing.

An odd move. Before the Singetails could catch up, they were already on their way back to the others. The Night Fury's speed made it easy for them to lose their chasers and catch up with the others.

None of the Riders questioned Hiccup's motives for burning down his own home and they weren't about to. At least, not yet. They needed to find Astrid and Stormfly and reunite with them first.

* * *

An air of defeat followed the group of six humans and five dragons. Just hours ago they were celebrating the birth of someone new and now they wallowed in the feeling of losing their home to what seemed like a completely random and unprovoked attack.

The Dragon Riders met up with their missing members at some sea stacks. After reuniting, they set course for Caldera Cay.

Stormfly leveled off next to Toothless. Looking over, Hiccup could at least smile when he saw his baby boy still safe and sound in the makeshift sling that held him to Astrid's chest.

"He's okay. He cried, like a lot, but he's okay." She reassured him and Hiccup quietly nodded. He barely had the energy to even speak.

Noticing that he was still staring after her reassurance, Astrid couldn't help but ask.

"You wanna hold him?" She offered, but Hiccup was quick to shake his head.

"Too tired. I feel like I might pass out. Don't wanna drop him." He replied, but that didn't mean he couldn't still look.

Astrid attempted to give him a comforting smile, but she felt the weight of defeat too. They all did. Their one silver lining was Tiny.

"You think you're gonna make it to the Defenders?" Snotlout asked, honestly worried. Hiccup's posture sagged and he trembled. It was colder than usual to him, too. He was so tired that the chill of the North got to him with ease.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Are you sure? Someone else can take over with Toothless." Fishlegs suggested, but Hiccup's mind was made up.

"I'll be fine. Let's just get to Mala." He told them and that was final.

A certain little someone had other plans, however.

"Uh, Hiccup?" Looking down, Astrid noticed the babe in her arms was growing fussy.

It wasn't the first time. He'd opened his mouth and screamed in the caves, too. It was awful with how the noises reverberated against the stone walls and it had been especially troublesome for Stormfly. Astrid, not an expert on babies, thought Tiny reacted to Hiccup's absence.

That such a small baby could be so loud. None of the babies she'd ever seen or held before produced that kind of sound.

"Yeah?" Hiccup didn't even need to ask what was up when the child began to protest loudly. And he did so with every ounce of power his little lungs could muster.

This wasn't the first baby he heard crying before, but it was the first time it made him as upset as it did. It was distressing. And everything he'd gone through the past two days certainly didn't help.

"He's crying. Why is he crying?!" Snotlout asked and the Riders could only stare at each other. The wailing got to the dragons as well. They chattered upsettingly.

Hiccup subconsciously pulled on his armor. He was pretty sure he wasn't injured, but something in his body was feeling even more off than before.

It only added to the long miserable list of things currently weighing him down on every level imaginable. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Every little thing was wearing him down.

"Hiccup, there are sea stacks over there! We can set down for a bit!" Fishlegs suggested. Looking over to said sea stacks, Hiccup figured it must be doable.

Honestly, it was getting a little bit hard to think.

He blinked. He needed sleep.

Fortunately, it didn't take them long to reach the sea stacks, but enough time passed that Tiny thought it necessary to raise his voice even further. Toothless and Stormfly were the first to set down.

"Shh, shhh, it's okay. It's okay, Tiny." Astrid attempted to quell the child's wails, but her comforting words and the rocking were of no use. Whatever he wanted, comfort wasn't doing it.

She dismounted while still holding onto him. When she set foot on the ground, Hiccup was already by her and the others were landing too.

Hesitantly taking him out of the sling with a hand supporting his neck and the other his body, afraid to hurt him, Hiccup gazed down at Tiny. His tear-stained face met his and... Oh Gods, he was about to follow.

"Can someone finally get him to quiet down? What's wrong with him?!" Ruffnut asked. The crying was upsetting to everyone, not just Hiccup. And the dragons, with their hearing so sensitive, they liked it least of all.

Hiccup's legs were tired. He needed to take a seat and that's what he did. He sat down cross-legged on the ground. Toothless followed, sitting down in front of him and cocking his head to one side in worry.

Hiccup stared down at the crying child. He was at a complete loss of what to do, so he just stared.

How did he not know? Was he that terrible of a parent? The boy clearly needed something, that's why he wailed! It was the only form of communication he currently knew! Hiccup had to figure it out.

Bumping into Hiccup's side with his nose, Toothless was trying to tell him something again.

"What, Bud?" Hiccup wanted to listen, but now he blanked out completely. Whatever the Night Fury wanted to tell him, he didn't understand. He barely understood any of his friends either. They were all gathered around him and saying... something... Their lips moved, he could see them. And yet, he heard not a single word they were saying.

So he was both a terrible parent, a terrible Rider, and a terrible friend! Great! Absolutely fantastic.

The Dragon Riders expected him to figure it out. He felt so overwhelmed. It was getting a little hard to breathe.

"Hiccup." Snotlout finally drew his attention, he went to his knees next to him and placed a hand on his arm.

"What do you do when you wake up?" He asked. He couldn't be more serious.

Hiccup remembered asking him something similar in a past that seemed so long ago now. Was he talking about the Skrill? Why bring that dragon up?

Snotlout quickly realized he wasn't going to be getting an answer, but here and now, he was patient. Hiccup needed him to be.

"You eat, right? Isn't that the first thing you do when you wake up?" He answered for him and Hiccup nodded. It was almost like a fog was cleared from his mind. Like he just had an epiphany.

Dragon hatchlings they happened to help care for or the ones they raised by hand usually started asking for food shortly after hatching. Couldn't the same be possible for human babies as well?

Hiccup didn't know when human young usually ate for the first time, but before Tiny had the chance to ask, those men and their Singetails attacked and frightened him and then he and the Dragon Riders had to flee for the Defenders.

Tiny was downright starved! Famished! That's why he cried as loud as he did!

At the very least, Hiccup knew what to do now.

Sorta...

He gave the baby to Snotlout, who tensed up as he held Tiny for the first time and suddenly became very aware of every little move he made.

"Oh, he's a lot lighter than I thought babies would be. It's okay, Tiny! It's your papa Snotlout! Papa Snot! Pappy Snot? Pops!"

"Can you think of names Tiny is going to call you when he's not crying?" Ruffnut asked, covering her ears. Tuffnut had already stuffed his full with moss.

Meanwhile, as Snotlout and Ruffnut had that going on, Hiccup threw his chest piece to the side. Besides relieving the pressure he was feeling, it was then they saw his tunic was soaked through. No use guessing what this was. Tiny already provided with an answer.

Didn't mean Hiccup wasn't embarrassed by the sight.

"Mother Nature," Astrid told him with a smile, shrugging. That helped him feel at least a little bit better, though.

She was right. This was just nature. He had a baby and he needed some way to feed that baby.

Grabbing the hem of his tunic, he quickly removed that as well as his undertunic and bared himself to the open air. They both hugged his figure too tightly to just pull the collar down, they needed to go. The cold was felt instantly.

"We're gonna need more appropriate clothing," Astrid stated as she took Hiccup's tunics from him and held his outer most layer out in front of her. It would be a hassle for him to pull it off and back on again every time Tiny needed food.

"Maybe Mala can give us one?" Fishlegs mused thoughtfully.

Snotlout handed the hopeless baby back to his birth parent.

It took some maneuvering before Hiccup found a position that was comfortable for them both and then it took some more figuring out how to get Tiny to drink, frustrating them even more. But once Tiny found and latched onto a nipple, he quieted almost instantly. Save for a few miserable sniffles.

It was a startling sensation for Hiccup, but the ensuing silence was a welcome relief for them all.

"Ah, Mother Nature," Ruffnut repeated Astrid's earlier words, calming down after the stressful experience. Her hands met together in front of her.

Toothless moved to lay himself behind his Rider and Hiccup leaned back gratefully, giving him a smile in gratitude. That made it easier to hold Tiny to his chest. The dragon purred and nuzzled his temple.

"And?" Snotlout asked. The Riders were all watching and so were the Dragons. If his body wasn't anything they hadn't seen before, Hiccup might've felt even more embarrassed with all of these eyes on him if he wasn't so tired.

"And what?" Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow, taking his gaze off his son for only a moment to face Snotlout before looking back down.

"What's it like?" He asked, genuinely curious. Everyone present was enamored with the scene before them.

Astrid had been about to punch his shoulder, figuring that was something Hiccup may not want to talk about, but he answered before she could.

"He's greedy. I mean, that's what it feels like to me. It's kinda nice." Hiccup shrugged, though not enough to disturb Tiny.

"He's cute," Tuffnut stated, reached out with a finger to lightly poke the child's cheek.

"Can you please refrain from poking the drinking baby?" Hiccup asked. Ruffnut smacked Tuffnut's arm and he pouted. He didn't mean to cause any trouble.

A few minutes later, Tiny let go already and then proceeded to yawn.

"He howled that long and hard just for that? I thought we were gonna be here for at least half an hour or something." Ruffnut complained.

"He had to wait a long time for his first meal, Ruff!" Fishlegs quickly defended the infant.

"There we go. That's much better, isn't it, Buddy?" Hiccup asked, holding him in front of him.

"Bud and Buddy. That's definitely not gonna get confusing, huh?" Snotlout asked Toothless, who snorted a definitive no. He was offended by the mere notion of the human thinking it was going to get confusing. If anything, he liked sharing a nickname with Hiccup's offspring.

"I think you're supposed to burp him next. Right?" Tuffnut asked and Hiccup figured it was probably a wise idea to listen. Better safe than sorry. And the twins did manage to get their hands on a vast knowledge of facts. No one quite knew where they all came from.

Holding him upright to his shoulder, it took Tiny only minutes to belch out loud.

"Damn son!" Ruffnut swore loudly, but proudly.

"Oh yeah, definitely mine." Snotlout once again claimed fatherhood.

Hiccup shook his head at their antics and handed the baby to Fishlegs, who eagerly offered to hold him when Hiccup expressed the want to be dressed again.

The other Riders, minus Astrid, and the Dragons, except for Toothless, all gravitated towards Fishlegs to sit around him and continued to coo at little Tiny.

Once dressed and wearing his armor, those wet spots of leaked breastmilk he wanted to cover up, a long yawn of his own broke through.

"Hiccup, are you sure you're going to make it to Mala? We can rest!" Astrid suggested. Hiccup briefly glanced at Toothless, but the dragon didn't seem to have any opinions at the moment. He wanted to hear his Rider's thoughts first.

"The thing is, we don't know if those people just wanted the Edge or if they were after us. If they're after us-"

"They could be hunting us down right now." Astrid finished with grim realization.

"Exactly. So the sooner we get to the Defenders of the wing, the sooner we'll be safe." Hiccup stated and looked over towards Fishlegs, towards the bundle in his arms, who was falling asleep all over again.

"The sooner we'll all be safe."

* * *

It took them another couple of hours before the Dragon Riders reached Caldera Cay. By the time they did, the sun had already set and another day had passed.

Mala came running out of her home, her armor barely on. Throk had gone to get her the moment he caught sight of the approaching visitors. In the light of the moon, he still managed to recognize the group of eleven even from afar.

"We're almost there." Astrid tried to tell Hiccup, but her only response was an absent hum.

These past hours had been even harder on him. He was far beyond his limits now and she worried. There was being exhausted and then there was this.

The second Toothless landed, the other Dragon Riders except for Astrid rushed over. She still held Tiny in his sling. The rest saw Hiccup sway as he attempted to dismount. Before he could fall, he was already in Snotlout and Fishlegs' arms.

"I'm-I'm fine, I'm just so, so tired." He was just standing there and his eyes were still drooping, his head falling slowly. Toothless rumbled in worry. He had never seen his Rider in such a terrible state before.

"Hiccup haddock, what is the meaning of this? What happened?" Queen Mala asked as she reached the group.

She quite quickly caught sight of a seventh human member amongst them and held a hand to her chest.

"Is that a-"

"A baby? Yeah, Hiccup kinda had one yesterday." Ruffnut briefly explained.

Mala was surprised, to say the least. She didn't remember ever being told about a pregnancy, nor did she remember the lead Dragon Rider ever showing, but one look at him told her that those questions needed to wait. He looked ready to fall over and the rest didn't appear to be any better.

Answers could be given later, she knew what needed to be done first.

"Throk, let someone ready a hut for the Riders. Fetch the healer and wake a cook."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last time I'll have Hiccup strip. I promise! He wasn't dressed for the occassion, unprepared as he is. As they all are.  
> And yes, there's a scene missing from the actual episode. The Riders wouldn't have seen it.


	6. A Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dragon Riders have reached the Defenders of the Wing and all the emotions from the past couple of days are wearing Hiccup down and the revelation that his unforeseen reunion with the masked stranger hasn't helped. In the midst of his despair, Tiny is finally given a name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter!  
> A warning: Some sensitive material may be present in this one. Lots of feelings of guilt, a mental breakdown, and some very dark thoughts concerning harming children.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

_It was night and Hiccup sat at the table in the clubhouse. He didn't know what he was doing, he was just sitting there. He could've sworn he was needed somewhere, but he couldn't remember where._

_The other Dragon Riders weren't present and Toothless was nowhere to be found either. It was just Hiccup._

_Hiccup got up from his stool. Something was going on outside, there was a large flickering light coming from the entrance that suddenly drew his attention and he wanted to check it out._

_Leaving the clubhouse, he turned to face the source and saw that his hut was engulfed in flames. A startling sight, Hiccup stumbled back and gasped. He was confused. How could this have happened?_

_"Oh no. Bud? Guys?!" He called for his friends, for anyone that would be able to help or saw what was the cause of this fire, but nobody was responding. He was all alone here on the Edge._

_Nothing else seemed to be on fire either, just his home._

_Hiccup would've searched for his friends, for a way to put out the fire, for any dragons who could help him carry the large basin of water made specifically for situations such as this, but a newly familiar sound kept him from doing so._

_It was the heartbreaking wailing of a baby. A sound that was always kinda unpleasant before, it bore a hole in his chest this time. Like a knife stabbed his heart and twisted._

_Quickly facing his burning hut with growing horror, Hiccup knew that only one person on the Edge could be making that noise and he was stuck in that fire, barely heard over those roaring flames._

_"I'm coming!" He found himself shouting as he ran over the wooden pathways that connected each of the huts. But he was stopped in his tracks by two men standing in his way. He knew them and they were not meant to be here._

_It were the masked man and Viggo grimborn. They were silent, but smug._

_"Let me through!" He shouted, but they stayed both quiet and unmoving. The wailing continued inside his hut and Hiccup's desperation grew as he gaze rapidly shot from the men to the hut and back. He needed to get past these two somehow, his son needed him._

_Out of the blue, there was a weight and warmth in his hand. Looking down, he noticed the Inferno in a steady grip. Its fire burned calmly, unlike the fury that raged inside his home._

_This would have to do, he wasn't about to let these two keep him from saving his child._

_"Out of my way!" Looking back up and getting ready to swing, Hiccup shouted at the two men, except there was a third in front of him._

_Ryker Grimborn stared down at him with equally cruel and amused eyes. There was a smirk as Hiccup stepped back._

_The older Grimborn brother struck harder with his fist than Hiccup ever could with a weapon. The hit landed on his gut and he folded in on himself, falling to the floor. The air was knocked out of him and for a moment he felt like he couldn't breathe._

_His abdomen started to hurt. It cramped and contracted and it took Hiccup everything to simply breathe. This wasn't pain caused by being punched, this was something he'd only very recently become familiar with._

_"No, my baby." He felt so heavy as he sat on his hands and knees, holding his middle. Gazing back up at his current obstacles, he noticed that Ryker was in the back and the stranger, wearing his cape, stood in front of him instead._

_"Do you have what it takes?" He asked and Hiccup wasn't sure what he meant. Not that he cared either, he just wanted to reach his hut. Why did they have to stand in his way? Why couldn't they just let him save his son?_

_With the Inferno still in a tight grip, Hiccup tried to get back up on his feet, but something pulled him back down._

_It was something made of metal, something wrapped so tightly around his throat that it nearly choked him._

_The metal chain was back around his neck. This discovery caused a panic to erupt and as the wailing from the flames grew louder, Hiccup began to pull and pull until he pulled at the chain links like a madman. The stranger held a tight grip on it, standing behind him instead of in front of him. Hiccup's struggles didn't make him budge at all._

_Shouting for help, trying with all his might to break free, Hiccup even begged Viggo to be let go._

_But nothing worked and no one listened, the sounds were deafening in his ears._

_And then the crying suddenly stopped._

_The realization of this made him freeze up, he felt his heart shatter and it was a feeling so visceral it was as if the organ was truly torn to pieces inside his chest._

_"No... No!" He called a name, but he couldn't hear what it was that he shouted._

_"No, please! Let me go!" He kept on yelling and he kept on pulling. But the chain wouldn't budge and his former and current foes weren't willing to help out. Instead, they stared at his misery._

_The flames ate away at his hut and the roof caved in._

_"No! Please! Not him! Don't- Anybody but him!"_

_The chain disappeared and Hiccup fell forward. He leaned on his elbows and knees, his hands in his hair. Viggo, Ryker, and the stranger were gone as well. It was just him now._

_Just him and the horrible realization that his firstborn child had died a terrible death and there was nothing he could've done to stop it._

_Hiccup curled up and cried._

* * *

In a cold sweat, Hiccup woke up in the middle of the night.

He wasn't in his own bed, he wasn't even on Dragon's Edge. It took him a little while to remember, but he was on Caldera Cay. Safe with the Defenders of the Wing and sleeping in one of their guest houses. And contrary to what his terrifying dream was trying to make him believe, he wasn't alone.

He was completely entangled with the furs. Once untangled, he sat up with a hurry and noticed Toothless still taking up space on the only other bed in the room. The Night Fury was curled, his tail hanging off the side. He was awake and crooned at Hiccup as he eyed him.

He'd noticed his Rider's growing restlessness as he tossed and turned in his sleep and briefly thought of waking him up, but then Hiccup beat him to it.

Hiccup stared at the dragon, panting while his heart continued to race. Throwing the covers off, he rushed to Toothless' front on only one leg, his prosthetic on the floor.

Knowing exactly what the other was searching for, Toothless moved his forelegs aside to reveal a small baby wrapped snuggly in his blanket. Tiny was still fast asleep.

Upon seeing this, Hiccup simply looked at the child. At his sleeping face, his small nose, his smacking lips. He was okay, he was fine.

Hiccup fell to his knees, as if all his strength left his body, and Toothless warbled worryingly.

"Just a bad dream, Bud. Just a terrible dream." Hiccup muttered and let his forehead rest on the furs of the bed. One hand rested on Toothless' foreleg, the other gently on the top of the baby's fluffy red hair.

His son was still safe and sound.

Toothless watched the human as he sat there, silently.

When Mala had given them this temporary home to recover in, Toothless had promptly taken the baby in bed with him. His Rider needed to rest and with their individual wooden and furry nests so close, it would take him only seconds to come over should Tiny need him again.

In the meantime, Toothless wanted nothing to disturb Hiccup's sleep and that also meant he wasn't about to spend his first night sleeping and worrying with a baby next to him. Toothless was already used to sleeping with tiny humans snuggled up against him, he knew to be careful and slept lightly.

Toothless watched Hiccup as he stayed in that same position for several minutes. He'd figured out that this dream hadn't been "just terrible", like he claimed. Hiccup had those often ever since the Red Death, he knew what a terrible dream looked like with him and this was something else entirely. A different kind of nightmare Hiccup hadn't experienced before and Toothless wasn't sure what to do about it yet.

So he waited. If Hiccup wanted comfort, then he would ask for it.

"Hey Bud, that man leading the Flyers was familiar to you too, wasn't he?" After another little while, Hiccup finally lifted his head to look up to the dragon. Toothless warbled something that Hiccup understood as a yes.

He put his head back down, this time with his cheek pressed against the fur.

That man was one of the bounty hunters who'd made Hiccup's life miserable in his mission to get the high price on his head. He was also the same person who tried to buy Toothless off Viggo's hands during a dragon auction.

"Seeing him made me think of a lot of bad memories I thought I'd left behind after Viggo's death." Toothless purred comfortingly in response and placed his head down near Hiccup's. Their eyes met, Toothless was listening.

Letting go of his foreleg, Hiccup instead placed that hand on his lower abdomen again.

"It made me realize somethings as well. Some very bad things. I've carried him for nine months without even realizing it and..." Hiccup stopped there, his relaxed hand turning into a fist as he grabbed a handful of the tunic he wore. He didn't want to think about it anymore. It wasn't even the right time for it, he should be worrying about other things besides his own personal problems.

Such as what the masked man's plan was, how they were going to retake the Edge, and how to parent a newborn infant. Those were the thoughts that should be on his mind, not the terrible dream and what it alluded to.

But lifting his head so he could look at his peaceful babe, he nearly became sick to his stomach.

Guilt sprouted.

Pushing himself up, Hiccup gently gathered the child in his arms and climbed up on the bed with them. Toothless, who'd already figured out what the human intended to do, made room. Hiccup settled against his neck with his legs crossed and one of Toothless' forelegs wrapped around him.

"I'll do better from now on. I won't let anything bad happen to him ever again." He spoke, moving Tiny to lay on his chest. Toothless rumbled a reassurance, as if to say "of course, you won't", and lied his head down.

He trusted his Rider. If anyone could do right by this baby, he believed it to be him.

Hiccup was still tired. So even though he was troubled, it, fortunately, didn't take him too long to doze off with the baby safely cuddled up to him. Toothless took a quick peek and once he was sure Hiccup was back in a light slumber, he followed him there.

* * *

Queen Mala made sure to take care of her visitors as much as she was able.

Astrid and Fishlegs had given her the full account of everything that had transpired over a fulfilling meal the evening of their arrival. From Hiccup's sickness turning out to be a surprise pregnancy nobody but the dragons knew about to the seemingly random attack on the Edge that sent them running to their closest allies.

It was a disturbing event for them all. The Dragon Riders weren't to be trifled with, so to have a force willing and plentiful enough to attack a group as experienced as them in what seemed like such a random way, it was worrisome.

Once Hiccup was a little more well-rested, Mala intended on discussing the matter with him. The Flyers, they knew who they were attacking.

The Queen of the Defenders assigned them all places to stay for however long they needed them, though Hiccup promised her it wouldn't be for too long.

She gave them food, a chance to recuperate, and a way to take their minds off the defeat to lift their spirits again.

As a new dawn began, Hiccup dressed himself with a fresh outfit presented to him by Mala and her people.

The undertunic was a white one made out of a comfortable material. The tunic he wore above it was made out of warm wool and it was dyed in a nice blue color with golden decorations on the hem and the sleeves. Both tunics possessed a more low-cut collar to help him with certain parental tasks.

He missed his old red one, but if anything, it could serve as the "more appropriate clothing" that Astrid had mentioned he might need the day before.

It was easy to remove one shoulder and give Tiny access to a breast should he need one again and newborn babies got hungry quite often.

Besides, it was nice to wear clean clothes. The pants he wore were a pair he'd been given as well. It fit him surprisingly well, though they were slightly baggy for his taste.

It was late in the morning and Toothless was already gone while Hiccup was still getting dressed. He pulled on the strings keeping the collar up as taut as he could get them, grumbling under his breath.

Stupid Snotlout. Hiccup couldn't get his stupid words about his stupid chest out of his stupid head.

He hadn't minded his breasts before, but that was before they apparently grew enough for the Riders to notice and leaked whenever he heard a baby cry. It didn't even need to be Tiny! While trying to eat his first meal in two days, a baby of one of the Defenders howled and that was all it took for his old tunic to get soaked. Again.

Astrid and Fishlegs trying to tell him that it was simply nature's way didn't help quite as well as they intended either.

On second thought, this nice blue tunic really wasn't so bad.

Sighing deeply and accepting that he just couldn't close it up any more than it already was, his gaze went back to the baby still lying on the bed near him.

Tiny was properly wrapped in a fur now. He was warm and cozy, exactly as he should be.

"Sleeping again, huh? Not that I can blame you. At your age, I probably slept just as much." Hiccup spoke to him. Tiny was so silent as he slept, but he looked content and that was what mattered.

Yes, that was what mattered. That he was safe and healthy.

After the Dragon Riders' arrival on Caldera Cay, besides a good heartening meal and a place to stay, Queen Mala had also provided them with a healer.

Hiccup and Tiny both needed one. Fishlegs was a good medic, but he, too, felt better if someone more experienced than him could provide with a second opinion.

The healer, an older woman that was both similar and so very different from Gothi, had examined both father and child. She confirmed Fishlegs' initial diagnosis that they were both healthy and well so far.

Tiny was healthy. Healthy and so very lucky.

That's what the elderly healer had told him. After hearing how Hiccup had experienced his pregnancy, or hadn't experienced, she told him he was lucky Tiny hadn't been stillborn or miscarried long ago. It was nothing short of a miracle that he'd made it this far.

Besides the obvious, that Hiccup hadn't known about a whole new human being growing inside his own body, he didn't ask her why she thought so. There was the feeling he knew exactly what she was talking about. It wasn't necessarily because he stayed so scrawny throughout his pregnancy either, though that certainly hadn't helped.

It was everything he'd been through the past couple of months, the bad memories the masked man made him relive, the nightmare that rubbed all of his new fears in his face.

He didn't want to think about them and yet here he was again. He tried and tried to push them away, to think about certain problems more pressing, but no matter how much he drowned them out, they kept coming back. And each time they did, a new memory popped up to add to the already large pile he couldn't swallow.

The awful revelation he had upon his reunion with the masked bounty hunter was that Hiccup not knowing that he was expectant meant that Tiny had been in danger ever since the eve of his conception.

The times he and Toothless had crashlanded came to mind, at least now Hiccup understood why the Night Fury had panicked more than usual, even insisting that his Rider stay down until help arrived.

Each day Dagur, Ryker, or Viggo and their men had abducted or hurt him. Every close encounter Hiccup had with water in the past couple of months, the few moments he spent without drawing breath after the Submaripper pulled him out of the Straits of Baldur. And he certainly didn't forget all the beatings he'd endured the past nine months.

Every single time Hiccup had been in danger, Tiny had been endangered as well. It was a miracle his son was still alive because he'd needed to fight to live since day one.

Hiccup allowed himself to think about it for just a moment too long and his guilt overwhelmed him until it became nearly impossible for him to breathe. He clutched his chest.

Toothless wasn't here to comfort or distract him either, his mind was free to torture itself.

Because of the nightmare, he remembered the way Ryker had punched him on that dreadful day on Sleipnir Island, when the bounty hunter had delivered him to the older Grimborn brother.

When his dad and the Dragon Riders came to save him, Ryker landed a hit so hard in his gut his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out. In his gut! He carried a bruise the size of Ryker's fist for more than a week! In that one moment Hiccup should've miscarried, let alone every single other incident that came before or after it.

The more he thought about it, the more it hurt. And before he found the strength to breathe, he grew emotional. As if he hadn't been crying enough the past couple of days.

It was almost impossible to keep control over himself.

With a shaky breath, Hiccup stroked his slumbering son's cheek with his fingers. This was his peaceful, carefree child. Tiny stirred a little within the furs and held his fists up to his temples, but otherwise didn't move much.

A faint chuckle left Hiccup as he still stared in wonder and disbelieve. Even though he had absolutely no idea of this boy's existence not even a few days prior, there was so much love in his heart for this baby boy.

But despite the more positive emotions coursing through him every time he saw or heard the newborn, there was no feeling behind his chuckles. They were empty.

Because as he looked down upon Tiny, looked at this small, defenseless little being, there was also an anger brewing inside of Hiccup that was aimed at nobody but himself.

How, in the name of Freya, did he not realize he was carrying? Toothless had certainly tried several times to tell him! He was so upset with himself. He wouldn't have willingly faced danger around every turn if he'd known, he would've avoided it as much as was possible.

He was mad, angry, enraged! There was even a bit of loathing. He choked up before an utmost dark thought decided to pop up uninvitedly.

It whispered that it almost felt like...

Like he'd been trying to kill his own child.

Hiccup thought he was sitting on the bed, he didn't know when he'd hit the wooden floor of the guesthouse and started bawling. He wasn't even sure where all of this sobbing was coming from.

The sensible part of his mind argued against that terrible thought. He knew he would never knowingly hurt a child, let alone his infant offspring, and thinking so was completely ludicrous. But even so, it was the only thing running on repeat inside his mind.

Kneeling on the floor, he began to cry out loud and even covered his ears as if it would cease the voices inside telling him that every misfortune the past year had been entirely his fault, that he alone was responsible for endangering his three-day-old.

He needed Toothless. He needed his partners, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruff or Tuff, he needed someone to remove these awful thoughts from his head.

He nearly completely curled up on the floor as he whined through his tears. He'd never felt a pain this horrid before or a guilt so suffocating it was choking the very life out of him. It even overshadowed the guilt he still felt whenever he thought about Toothless' tailfin. He grabbed handfuls of his hair.

"Hiccup Haddock, are you alright?" A voice drew him out of his mental breakdown.

Removing his hands and straightening a little, he hesitantly looked over his shoulder to find Mala standing by the bed. For how long had she been standing there? He didn't remember hearing anybody enter.

Mala was gazing down at him, a look of worry clear on her face. She held a hand up, as if she'd been about to say something else.

Apparently deciding against that, she turned her attention to Tiny.

Who was fussy and near tears himself after hearing his dad have a mental break right next to him.

"Tiny," Despite his reluctance to use that nickname, Hiccup called it and used the edge of the bed to push himself up to his feet, though his legs felt weak. He was trembling all over and he felt warm and sweaty.

Hiccup picked Tiny up and soothed him. It wasn't difficult, the boy was comforted by his hold and he quieted down. He'd gotten to him in just the nick of time before he started wailing himself. Hiccup allowed himself to smile at him, sniffing, and Mala approached.

She was usually one not so easily read, but she wore a soft expression of concern, her head slightly cocked to one side.

"I'm fine." That is what he tried to tell her, but she could still tell that it couldn't be farther from the truth.

And yet, Mala knew she wasn't the right person Hiccup needed to address his troubles with.

It wasn't that she was unwilling, she simply felt there were people closer to Hiccup that he needed to have this conversation with. His loves came to mind, his father, too. From the one time that they have met in the past, Mala considered Stoick a reasonable man, a father who loved his son dearly.

Hiccup telling her he was "fine" when that clearly wasn't true said enough, too. He didn't want to talk.

But perhaps, she could at least lighten his spirits a little.

"Does he have a name?" Mala asked, coming to stand next to Hiccup to gaze down at the child in affection, Hiccup followed her example.

When the Riders told her about Tiny's birth, Mala hadn't been taken off guard. She'd known about Hiccup all along, her observant eyes had noticed the very first time they met. She never spoke up about it or asked him because it simply hadn't mattered at the time. It still didn't and neither was it any of her business, but at the very least, she wasn't surprised the young man with her could bear a child.

"He doesn't have one yet. I haven't been able to think of one." Hiccup answered. He hadn't had the time and he wasn't planning on taking it either. He supposed he wanted Tiny to meet his grandfather first. Tiny wasn't even officially a Haddock yet.

"The Riders have been calling him Tiny, but that's not the kind of name I want for him. They don't understand, but I know exactly what it's like to walk around with a name like that." He added, a sorrowful frown on his face.

In the end, he never did manage to convince them to stop using that nickname. Fishlegs was a little bit more hesitant, at least, but he still used it often enough.

"They're right, though. He's so small." Hiccup spoke up again after a brief pause, after a moment of contemplation. He gingerly held a fist of his.

Mala watched him closely. As he stared at Tiny, she stared at Hiccup. She could see the trouble brewing again, could see the darkness. But she could also see the immense care he held for his son.

"If I may be so bold," Mala started, she wasn't expecting anything, but she hoped to get his mind in a better place.

"I know of one name that may be fitting, Vigi. I've heard it means-"

"Fighter. Vigi is someone who fights." Hiccup interrupted her, Mala let it go and nodded with a smile.

"He does deserve a name like that. After everything he's been through, all that's been done to him... That I've done to him... He's still here. He was so determined to be born, he fought to be here." Hiccup looked back up to Mala and his frown disappeared to make way for a smile. His eyes were still red and his cheeks stained, but he felt at least a little bit better.

"Thank you, Mala. I think Vigi will suit him just fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giving birth is a very lifechanging and emotional event, let alone when you have a baby you didn't even know you were expecting, find your home suddenly under attack, and make some very disturbing realizations.


	7. Return To Berk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vigi now has a name and all that is left now is to ponder the attack that chased the Dragon Riders from the Edge. But as the Flyers follow and attack them on Caldera Cay, it is time to seek the safety of their home on Berk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here I am, finally posting an update after not touching this story since I last updated it in March. I haven't abandoned this fic. I just hit a major writer's block and could hardly write for months. Just a week or two ago, I finally got some motivation again and wrote this 8k word update in the span of a week and got some of the next chapter down, too. Hopefully, I'll get it done soon!  
> Also, I know I've been using a lot of scenes from the actual show and there's some more in this particular chapter. Don't know for how much longer I'll be relying on the show.  
> Took me the entire day to spell check.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

Though it wouldn't help him with his troubles, naming his baby lifted Hiccup's spirits at least, much like Queen Mala hoped it would. And with the both of them fed and in better health, Mala had a meal brought right to him that morning, Hiccup gathers himself and leaves the guesthouse to meet with the other Dragon Riders outside.

"Toothless!" The second he steps out into the late morning sunlight, child secure in a sling, Hiccup calls out to his Night Fury. His Bud has just returned from a meal together with the other Dragons. It had been a large, large bowl filled with all kinds of fish.

Toothless purrs as he reunites with his Rider and walks a quick circle around him, rubbing against him as dragons do with one another when they are close. Hiccup seems to be in a better mood than he was last night, although he still appears to be tired. He will probably look that way for a good long while to come.

Mala is with him and keeps her distance to give Toothless a little space to greet the other human. A short chuckle leaves her at the dragon's display of affection.

Hiccup responds to the greeting by scratching the top of his head, a touch Toothless stops and stands still for.

"I'm okay, Bud. Rough morning, but I'm okay now." Hiccup admits as much to him and Toothless warbles in return when he raises his head to be at eye-level with his Rider.

He does observe something off about him, Hiccup's eyes are still red for some reason, but Toothless chooses not to make a big deal about it and to trust his word on this. For the time being, at least. If he isn't okay, Toothless will notice and he will bring it up then. He knows better than to pester Hiccup about things such as this.

Hiccup walks off and Toothless correctly assumes he is off to find the others. He has already seen them today, they have been up for much longer than their Lead Rider has, who understandably needed his rest. The two don't need to go very far, their nine friends are waiting for them to come.

The Dragon Riders do not look all that cheery.

They just stand or sit on the porch of the other guesthouse. A look of defeat is present on all of their faces. Mentally they are exhausted, they are beaten, their morale is the lowest it's ever been. Losing the Edge isn't just a personal hit on their pride as the Dragon Riders, but it is also like losing a home. And this one they'd built themselves.

There is at least one shining ray of light and he is a tiny human of only a day old. The second the Riders spot Hiccup and Toothless, knowing that Tiny is with them, grins appear and they are quick to meet with father and son, already cooing before they even see the boy.

Snotlout is the first to reach them, awkwardly forcing Hiccup to an abrupt stop. Naturally, he takes up all the space in front of the newborn, who is asleep and is therefore acutely unaware of his presence.

"There's my little man! Hey! It's me, Popslout!" He squeaks in a high-pitched voice when his eyes catch a peek of Tiny. The boy is in a proper sling now, a sturdy red cloth that ties him securely to Hiccup's chest, its borders are embroidered with golden thread as well. The stuff Mala has given to him aren't simple cheap materials.

"Little man? Popslout?" Ruffnut asks with a rather unimpressed tone, a hand on her hip.

"I'm working on it!" Snotlout snips back at her, protective of what is currently one of his favorites on his still-in-progress list of names he wants this baby to call him in the future.

"Eh, I would go for something a little more "you", you know?" Tuffnut chimes in thoughtfully, standing as always by his sister's side.

"Like what?"

"Like, Snotdad!" Tuffnut suggests helpfully, winking as he tries to sell him the name. Next to him, Ruffnut nods quietly in approval. She likes this one a lot more.

Snotlout pauses as he stares at the Thorston with his arms crossed, a contemplative look on his face. He hums.

"I like that."

Astrid comes to stand in between the three of them and Hiccup.

"How are you and Tiny doing? Feeling better now that you slept and got some food in you?" She asks and rubs his upper arm. She'd worried herself sick the night before. As a result, she hasn't slept much last night.

There is a pause that she does not like, but before she can speak of it, Hiccup replies.

"Yes, actually, I feel a lot better. Refreshed even! Both of us do." He speaks, gazing down at Tiny with a slight smile. The sling is reliable, but even so, he doesn't relinquish his grip even a little bit. Though still unsure, Astrid returns the small smile with one of her own.

A soft guttural sound causes Hiccup to look up as a shadow envelops him. Hookfang has come to stand behind him, cooing at the child in his own way. For as prideful as he is, much like his Rider, the Nightmare, too, is soft for all things that are smaller versions of bigger things.

Reaching a hand up, Hiccup scratches his chin, much to Hookfang's delight.

"Oh, that's so good to hear!" Fishlegs replies to his and Astrid's short conversation, coming to stand at Hiccup's side to look at Tiny from over his shoulder. He reaches out and strokes the boy's cheek.

"Hey, little guy!" He says softly, excited to see him again. All morning butterflies have been fluttering around in his stomach. He could barely even eat his breakfast.

Tiny smiles at the touch, causing Fishlegs to 'aw' out loud with the others swiftly following. Mala, too, smiles brightly as she takes a peek. Toothless purrs as he stands on his hind legs. Its the only way he can still take a glance with the Riders all gathered around Hiccup.

"Tiny is so-"

"Again, not Tiny." Hiccup interrupts Tuffnut to give him a quick reminder. Yesterday he may have given up along the way, but not today. For as long as his energy may still last.

"Than what do we call him?" Snotlout asks with a roll of his eyes. "Tiny" is a perfectly good name for a baby, human or otherwise.

Of course, he completely forgets that babies tend to grow up.

"I guess we could vote?" Ruffnut suggests, though she, much like the Jorgenson, isn't so happy with the idea of having to call this child anything other than the nickname he currently has.

"I don't know, you guys. If anybody should name him, I think it should be Hiccup." Fishlegs offers a counter-suggestion, one he finds to be much more fitting considering the circumstances of his birth.

"I mean, he did push him out, so it's only fair." When brought up, Snotlout finds himself agreeing with him.

"That is true! Much unlike you, who fainted before it even started, Hiccup pushed him out like a champ." Ruffnut, too, agrees. And at the same time, she takes this opportunity to throw the shorter Rider under the stampeding Rumblehorn. All Snotlout can do is grumble beneath his breath.

While he comes to the staggering conclusion that he can't deny it, Hiccup mutters a soft "okay" as this conversation might be about to take a turn that he will not appreciate.

Luckily, Astrid steps and brings them back on the original path of this discussion.

"I agree with Fishlegs... And Snotlout, I guess... But I do have to say, Hiccup, I agree so long as it's a good name. No offense, but we can't name this one 'Toothless' because of his lack of teeth." She teases and Hiccup gives her a look as if to say "don't tempt me".

Toothless grunts indignantly. He understands that it might not be a proper name for a human, though he would dispute this given Berk's questionable history when it comes to naming their children.

"Don't worry, I won't be calling him Toothless. As a matter of fact, I already decided on a good name for him. I was thinking of calling him Vigi, a fighter." Hiccup glances over to Mala, who is still standing off to the side. He gives her a look of gratitude and she nodded in understanding.

"Vigi, huh? I like it!" Astrid mulls it over for a moment before deciding that she likes the sound of it. It isn't intimidating, it doesn't strike fear into the hearts of men, but it doesn't need to. Being a son of Hiccup's is already fearsome enough. Besides, she likes the meaning behind the name.

"I like it, too! It's a perfectly respectable name! Vigi Haddock." Fishlegs cheerily agrees, testing the name on his tongue a few times before deciding that he likes the sound of it.

"It's a cute name! A cute name for a cute baby! Don't you think so, little Tiny?" Tuffnut states and then immediately switches back to the nickname as he addresses the child. He takes a moment to boop the boy's nose.

"Aha! Because he's a fighter like me! I get it!" Snotlout proudly exclaims and pounds with a proud fist on his chest.

The other Thorston twin, meanwhile, gazes down thoughtfully at the baby, stroking her chin with her lips pursed as she takes a good moment to think about it.

"I mean, it's no Tiny, but I guess I can live with that." She eventually settles, supposing she could call him that instead of the name she's already grown fond of. Though, Tiny is still infinitely better in her eyes.

Inside the sling, Vigi yawns deeply and opens his eyes, causing everyone around him to fall silent for a short moment.

"Omigosh, how can anybody be this cute?!" Tuffnut asks, pretty much squealing. And chances are, he'll be doing so for a long, long time.

"I'd say "omigosh?!" in a very mocking tone, but Tuff's right. If anyone deserves an "omigosh", it's Vigi." Ruffnut says, nodding.

People crowding around him is usually something that triggers an anxiety-like response in him. Doesn't matter if the ones surrounding him are human or dragon, sometimes the latter can be a little suffocating, too. And when they eventually visit Berk, he is doomed to relive it on a much larger scale, for sure. For now, however, Hiccup is much too taken with the boy.

"Blue eyes." He is in awe himself as he notices the baby's eye color for the very first time, though Tiny's gaze is unfocussed as he looks at his little world that exists solely out of his furs, the sling, and his father.

"He's not going to tell us who his other dad is, is he?" Astrid asks lightheartedly and both Hiccup and Fishlegs concur. The red hair he clearly got from the Haddock line, but his blue eyes could belong to either one of his partners. The only ones with green eyes are Hiccup and Fishlegs. Even Tuff's, while his eyes lean more to a greyish color in certain lights, are still blue.

"Weeeellll-" As the twins get caught in a ramble amongst themselves to figure this mystery out and Snotlout chooses to spend some time practicing the newborn's name, Hiccup keeps his gaze down at their son and sees him staring back at him.

Hiccup isn't sure what exactly Vigi is looking at, he doesn't know enough about babies and their development to know if it's him that he's looking at, but just seeing his eyes is more than enough. They are light blue.

A frown is plastered on his face instead of the smile he previously wore. A pang of guilt painfully throbs inside his chest.

Vigi is so frail, so fragile. How could Hiccup have hurt him like that for so long?

The sensible part tries to remind him that he didn't know and that he, therefore, couldn't have helped it, but it's hard to listen to that part.

"Hiccup?" Though it is Astrid who speaks, it is Fishlegs' hand that settles on his shoulder. Toothless nudges his arm.

"Uh, yeah?" Hiccup nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Are you okay?" She inquires. All three of them are wearing an expression of worry.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a little weird still, that's all." It isn't entirely a lie. His body does feel incredibly out of sorts. He hopes that feeling will disappear soon.

"Hiccup Haddock," Mala takes a step closer herself when she sees an opportunity to speak up, causing the others to turn and face her. Her right-hand man, Throk, has also joined them. He shares an acknowledging nod with his queen.

"Allow me to remind you that you and your Dragon Riders are welcome here among us for as long as you need. You will have all the time to plan the correct course of action and you will have the opportunity to rest. Not only have you had an infant the day before yesterday, but all of you are mentally and physically exhausted." She takes the moment to remind him, to which the Dragon Riding leader nods.

"Pff, exhausted? Who's exhausted? We're just gonna spent our every waking moment on little Tiny here and that way we won't have to face the terrible loss of the Edge or the humiliating defeat at the hands of those Flyers!" Tuffnut states and as if to back his words up, cooes at Tiny inside the sling. Astrid rolls her eyes.

Hiccup decides to take a couple of steps back, away from both of the Thorston twins and Snotlout when he and Ruff seem to agree with this plan.

But what Mala is saying is the truth, they are a mess. Tiny gives them something else to focus on and he is about the only reason they have any energy left at all. If he hadn't been there to distract them from their loss, Hiccup is certain they would all be acting quite differently than they are now.

"Thank you, Mala, really. You have no idea how much this means to us." He is grateful for the respite he and his Dragon Riders are given, they all are. Some of them may not realize it yet, but they need it.

"You need not mention it," Mala replies and then turns her attention to the rest of the Riders. Throk, who has been silent until now, loyally stands next to his queen. The two briefly face each other, as if there is a plan the two have agreed on.

"Fishlegs, I believe there is an ore mine here on the island. Oxides, sulfides, silicates-" Before the Queen of the Defenders can finish her sentence, Meatlug jumps up and down in excitement and stands before Fishlegs with a longing look in her eyes.

"Oh no, no, no, no! Don't say silicates, it makes her drool!" He tries to intervene, but it's already too late. She's drooling and everyone is forced to take a step back to escape the dragon slobber. The gronckle can already taste them.

Then Throk takes the opportunity to step forward and speaks up for the first time since he's joined them. He addresses the Thorston twins.

"My Queen has had me scouting out some pristine locations where one could build a temporary boar pit." He suggests, but both Ruff and Tuff huff mockingly.

"Pff, boar pits," Tuffnut repeats to his sister.

"So last year." And Ruffnut adds to her brother's sentence.

"Good for beginners, good for Tiny soon, but so not us anymore." He then finishes next and Throk pretends to briefly think before coming up with another offer.

"What about a lava pit? Very dangerous with hot, smoldering magma?" He gives them a knowing look. He knows they would never be able to resist this one.

"Sounds spicy!" Just as he predicted, the two of them are hooked onto the idea almost instantaneously, immediately a little chipper.

Throk takes the three Riders and their respective Dragons and leads them to where they can take a moment of reprieve.

With both Fishlegs and the twins taken care of, there is only one Rider left that needs some distracting to clear his head. Mala turns her attention to Snotlout.

"Snotlout, some of our younger warriors are in desperate need for hand-to-hand combat training." She tells him an opportunity he cannot refuse and Snotlout perks up.

"Ha! You need the help of the one and only Snotman to properly mold the minds of these kids? Because I'm the right man for the job!" He responds, a smirk on his face as he smugly points with a thumb to himself.

There is a brief moment in which he glances towards Tiny, but then he quickly jumps up in the saddle and focusses on the task at hand.

"Now where are those little guys?" He mutters, an unexpected softness in his tone.

With Throk and most of the Dragon Riders gone, it's just the six of them. Two dragons and four humans, one of which a baby.

"A-again, thank you, Mala." Hiccup stammers. He might repeat it for the entire duration of their stay, no matter how short or how long it might end up being.

"I've been precisely where you stand, Hiccup Haddock. Well, almost precisely." The queen states, a brief glint of sympathy is in her eyes, though her encouraging smile remains.

"When one leads, one is looked upon for all the answers, some of which they haven't yet found." Though Hiccup is certain Mala is referring to their situation with the new Flyers, he casts his gaze downwards as he feels like that isn't all she is talking about. She hadn't pried, but she had caught him crying not even an hour ago, after all.

"The keyword being "yet"," Astrid chimes in, laying a hand on her leader's and partner's shoulder.

Taking a step back, Mala gestures down a random path with a simple wave of her hand and both Hiccup and Astrid follow her silent request. She wants to walk and talk.

"There is one part of this event that is particularly concerning, however. You see, I was under the impression that you, and only you, can train dragons." It had been almost too ridiculous to accept for Queen Mala the first time she met young Hiccup Haddock, but to think that others besides him are capable of bonding with dragons seems even less realistic.

But Astrid provides her with her own perspective on the matter.

"Those dragons are not trained." There is judgment in her tone. All the Dragon Riders had seen the chains the Singetails are bound with.

"They are being forced to carry the Dragon Flyers." Hiccup adds, just as angry with the mere concept of it as she is.

"And to do their bidding." And Mala finishes. With her life spend honoring and protecting dragons, the thought of these Singetails being used and abused in such a manner upsets her.

"Plus, it's pretty obvious that his whole plan hinges on the fact that he knows we won't hurt his dragons." Their conversation moves slightly onto the subject of the masked stranger, who is clearly the leader of the Flyers. He has his own Singetail, the biggest of them all, too. It had been a Titanwing, of that he and Fishlegs are sure.

What an ego this man must have. To think himself deserving of the biggest Singetail. He's the same one who wanted to buy Toothless, a Night Fury, at that dragon auction of Viggo's.

Hiccup feels the need to sit. Whether it is the physical task of walking that drains him, the heavy weight of their current problem, or both, he sighs and sits on a nearby porch.

"It's gonna take something we've never thought of to get around that." He's not too hopeful and he tires just from thinking about figuring this one out.

"But you'll come up with it." As always, Astrid is there to encourage him.

"Thank you, but how-how do you know that?" Hiccup stutters in slight confusion.

Has he forgotten already? Astrid can't help but wonder.

"Because Hiccup haddock is the wisest, most talented, and bravest Dragon Trainer on Midgard and he always comes up with it." She tells him and takes a seat next to him, her hands on his shoulder and upper arm respectively.

Hiccup isn't sure if he agrees with her or not, but he appreciates her words, nonetheless. He allows himself to smile a little.

"It doesn't hurt that you're gonna be a great dad, too." She means to help, but Hiccup's slight confidence falters again, though he hopes that isn't too obvious.

A plan to counter the Flyers he can certainly come up with, but the matter of whether he'll be a decent parent or not is still up for debate.

* * *

During the day, Vigi protested once in a while. First for a change, later for a meal, and not too long after that for another change. Astrid took care of the latter, telling Hiccup that he didn't need to be in charge of everything involving this child. There are six of them after all, eleven if you count the dragons. They are the size of a very, very, very small village. Or a really big household.

Either way, Astrid insisted on helping out, though a fellow, and more experienced, mother needed to show her how.

It is why Vigi is now once again in her arms as she sits outside of the guesthouse Hiccup is given to use. And she is lovingly doting on the boy. Already her heart is full of love for him.

The others have their distractions to pass the day or help put, she simply wishes to spend more time with him.

Meanwhile, Hiccup is inside with his dragon, sitting on the bed. They'd come back here in search of privacy. Fishlegs and Astrid can try to sell him on the beauty of nature, but he still prefers to have a little bit of solitude when he feeds his child.

But it is just the two of them now, just him and Toothless. And this means the Night Fury is allowed to see what his Rider has been hiding from the others. There has been something off about him all day, after all.

His guard not up, Hiccup is sitting on the edge of the bed with his dragon sitting next to him. His gaze is lowered and it is upset. Toothless can read human faces well enough to know that Hiccup is deeply troubled by something. And his appearance of this morning as well as the terrible nightmare he had the night before are only further proof of his current mindset.

Toothless croons questioningly as the human absentmindedly scratches the top of his head.

Receiving no immediate answer, Toothless moves away and comes to sit in front of him to question Hiccup again.

Always trusting his dragon to never judge him and be his listening ear, Hiccup can at least lighten his load a little.

"You don't think I'm the worst person ever, right? Just missing my own pregnancy like that?" He asks, it is one of the many fears that has been troubling him the past two days. Toothless cocks his head to the side in worry.

That isn't at all what he thinks! He isn't a fool, he knows those nine months hadn't gone like they were supposed to for some reason. He doesn't blame him for that.

Attempting to copy a human's angry expression, he scoffs in disapproval of this notion.

"You don't think so, huh?" Hiccup asks and a hint of relief presents itself.

Of course, Toothless wouldn't think of him this way. But even so, he feels comforted by this.

And yet, at the same time he almost wants Toothless to be mad at him.

The door opens and Hiccup doesn't even need to look to know who has rejoined them.

"See, there he is!" It is Astrid. She tells Vigi this in one of his few waking moments as she approaches. She's grinning and only has eyes for him. She takes a seat beside Hiccup and he scoots closer to take a peek at the boy himself.

"These are my favorite moments so far." She starts and Hiccup glances up at her, wanting her to elaborate.

"When he's awake. When we can see him and he can see us." She says and Toothless purs his agreement. He, too, has come to sit closer to watch.

He can see his Rider in him already. And Tiny smells like him, too. He secretly hopes he'll be just as clever and just as strong.

And hopefully not as prone to getting into trouble as Hiccup is.

Ah, who is he kidding?

As silence returns, Hiccup once again tries to fix his tunic and pulls the straps much too taut.

"Stop that. You're going to ruin the clothes Mala gave you." Astrid scolds him and smacks his hands away.

"I'm sure clothes of this quality don't tear as quickly as you think." Though that is Hiccup's response, he lowers his hands and doesn't try again.

"They will if you pull like that. Why are you pulling like that anyway? I haven't seen you so insecure since you were fifteen." She asks, slightly adjusting her hold on the child. She isn't in possession of the sling at this time.

"Insecure?"

"Well, you're not pulling on them with a look of confidence." She retorts and Hiccup can only suppose that he isn't.

"Does this still have to do with Snotlout's comment?" Astrid asks and before Hiccup can deny it, Toothless already betrays him by nodding. Darn dragon and his extensive knowledge of human behavior.

"What? No, I'm not thinking about that anymore. What would give you that idea?" Hiccup claims even as he fingers one of the two straps. The two give him a pointed look.

Feeling awkward, Hiccup looks the other way.

"Do you want me to find him and punch him in the face for you? You know I will gladly do it for you." Astrid offers helpfully and Hiccup huffs in something akin to amusement. She lets her smile stay, too.

"But just so you know, I don't think this changes anything. Your body doesn't change it, bleeding doesn't change it, and all baby Vigi here proves is that you are even more badass than I thought you were." She states what is on her mind, correctly guessing as to what kind of string Snotlout had hurt with his comment.

She rubs Tiny's nose with her own and his face breaks out into a wide and happy smile. Astrid allows herself to laugh.

"How are you real?" She asks him while her heart flutters. Apparently, Hiccup isn't the only one still reeling from the surrealism of it all. Toothless purrs at Tiny.

The smile Hiccup wears then seems a lot more genuine.

"You think I'm badass?" He brings up. It's not exactly what he would call himself.

"Don't let it go to your head, Haddock." Astrid reels him back in and his heart lightens just a tad as he chuckles. A little bit of playful teasing helps him feel at least a little bit better.

"But seriously, Hiccup, you know who you are." She isn't looking at him as her attention is instead on the child again who has a firm grasp on her finger, which she wiggles. He appears to be sleepy again.

But her words are meaningful to Hiccup as she is right. If anyone would know himself, it would be him, right?

And at least for a little time, they ease those insecurities.

The deafening sound of what can only be a loud bang shakes the guesthouse and the three of them are guilty of wondering if it's the twins who are up to their usual shenanigans. Startled by the loud noise, Tiny cries and that is where their biggest agitation comes from.

Not only are they stirring up trouble in a tribe that is kind enough to provide them food and a home in times of trouble, but they also make the baby cry? Even if the latter was purely accidental, neither of them appreciate it.

Hiccup lets out a groan of annoyance as his pounding heart calms after the unwelcome surprise. Before he can get up to find the suspected culprits behind the ruckus, Tiny is handed to him and Astrid gets up.

"I'll take care of them, you calm him down." She tells him, adamant in not letting the twins trouble him. While he recovers and adjusts, she will take over his duties and that is not up for discussion.

But she only gets halfway across the room when a second explosion shakes the small house and this time she rushes towards the door. When she flings it open, the first thing she sees is the building across from them burning.

There is no time for shock. Looking up at the sky, she sees the recognizable silhouettes of what can only be Singetails of all colors flying overhead. They are attacking the Defenders just as they have attacked the Edge.

The Flyers have chased them all the way to the Defenders of the Wing Island.

Naturally, Civilians have begun to run in a panic as fire rains down all around them. Not knowing what to do, not knowing where to go, and the fire rapidly spreading all around them, chaos ensues amongst them.

Defenders, their warriors, are trying to lead them to safety, but when a ball of flames cuts their way off and Singetails swoop down to tear roofs off their homes, it gets difficult to keep them safe.

"Stormfly!" Fists clenched, Astrid calls for her dragon while Hiccup and Toothless join her outside, having realized that this isn't just the usual shenanigans of the other Riders. Tiny is once again in his sling, still upset. He isn't going to calm down with all these terrible noises.

Astrid grabs Hiccup's arm and pulls him off the porch with Toothless following. A second later, the house is blown to bits by a well-aimed strike from a Singetail.

Hiccup shields Tiny and Toothless shields both him and Astrid while wood and metal fly past them. The heat of the blast washes over them.

"Who was supposed to be on patrol?!" Hiccup raises his voice in exasperation.

"Snotlout."

"I was? Nobody told me that!" Just as Astrid responds, Snotlout approaches with Hookfang right behind him.

"Where were you?!" Even with everything going on around them, she questions him. Both are angry with one another.

"Sleeping." And with that as Snotlout's reply, Astrid can only growl in anger.

Well, it doesn't matter now.

"Get your dragons! We have to get into the air! The Defenders can't fend them off from the ground." Hiccup orders, but as he reaches for the saddle, Toothless steps to the side and out of his reach.

"Bud-"

"Hiccup, no. You have Vigi." Astrid tells him, already upon her dragon and so is Snotlout.

Hiccup looks down at his son. His weight is in his arms. Was he truly just about to jump into battle with him still right with him?

"Be careful." Hiccup wants to tell his Dragon Riders, but they are already in the air and aiming to counter the Flyers. 

But a Night Fury is quite noticeable in the late afternoon and it doesn't take long for one of them to spot him and then Hiccup. Coming straight for them, a Flyer makes the Singetail fire.

"Bud!" Hiccup is frozen, there is nothing he can do. Luckily, the dragon is quick enough to pull him out of the way. He just has to trust that his Rider has a good enough grasp on the baby.

Toothless pulls them behind a burning home and out of the sight of that duo. The spot where Hiccup stood just a second earlier is blown away and Tiny's wails grow.

Now sitting on the ground with the Night Fury shielding him from the invasion and glaring at the sky, Hiccup checks Tiny to see that he hasn't been harmed. His crying is horrendous on the dragon's sensitive hearing, but Toothless understands what upsets him and why.

What a life this near two-day-old baby is living. This is already his second attack and he is rightfully upset by it. After everything he's been through in the womb, he isn't used to battles and Hiccup isn't so sure he wants him to be.

"I'm sorry," He apologizes. As if it even matters.

In the sky, four of the Dragon Riders engage with the army of Flyers.

"Look out!" Astrid shouts as a Singetail shoots a ball of fire straight at them and Stormfly and Hookfang both swerve out of the way. A yellow Singetail flies past them and the rider on top cackles at their evasion.

Snotlout mutters a curse. Hookfang turns and gives chase while the other two go for a different Flyer.

But four Dragon Riders aren't enough to fend off all the invading Flyers. Already a great part of the Defenders' village is burning and it will only be a matter of time before casualties will follow.

The remaining six members, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Ruff, Tuff, and Barf and Belch, arrive to aid in the battle. They are tailed by a green Singetail and a Flyer, but they are swiftly taken out of the air by a well-aimed plasma blast, courtesy of Toothless.

"Nice shot, Bud." Hiccup tells his dragon.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs calls out to their leader, referring to the Flyers and the destruction they are causing.

"I know, Fishlegs!" The other calls back. All he can do is take a look around, take a look at the village, and the people who are being terrorized simply for being kind enough to take him and his Dragon Riders in. There is an anger and a pang of guilt he can hardly describe.

Though that kind of guilt has been eating away at him for the past two days, the anger is caused by the unjustness of this situation. People this kind and welcoming, this generous, they don't deserve to be attacked and everything they love burned down and destroyed.

He shouldn't even be up on his feet. He should be on the Edge, letting Astrid take care of everything while he recovers and adjusts to this sudden change in his life. Maybe do some catching up with Toothless as there are clearly some things they need to be talking about if the Night Fury spend nine months trying to tell him about Tiny, only to not have that message come across until the day of his birth has come.

And Vigi, he shouldn't be spending the first few days of his life crying about terrifying and loud noises that hurt his ears and startle him out of his much-needed sleep.

Momentarily, Hiccup recalls occasionally feeling strange sensations during or after battles that he'd previously written off as stress causing his stomach to churn or adrenaline leaving him feeling weak.

But even with all that guilt and anger, Hiccup is powerless to do anything about it. He growls at the frustration of it all. Mounting Toothless as the dragon lets him on, he has some idea as to what his Rider is thinking, they take to the sky. Their presence up there catches the others by surprise, but before several of them can demand that Hiccup and Toothless go back down, the former gives them an order.

"We need to lead them away from this island. They came looking for us, they will follow us. It's the only way." Just fleeing didn't sit well with either one of them, especially since this wasn't just their island that they were abandoning, but that of an ally's that has helped them in the past before and it pains Hiccup to say it.

But they know there is truth to Hiccup's words. The only way to spare the Defenders of the Wing any more misery is to simply leave.

There is no time to find Mala, Hiccup will have to send a letter of apology later. Or visit when this matter has been dealt with.

Probably the latter since their hurry to leave will result in Throk being taken along with them, if that is the person Hiccup spots behind Ruffnut's seat on the Zippleback.

Toothless takes a moment to blast a Flyer out of the sky. And then, turning into any direction that will take them far away from Caldera Cay, he and Hiccup take off into the clouds, hoping that they will cover their escape and delay a possible chase. The other Dragon Riders follow swiftly, their hearts even heavier than before.

* * *

There is something to be said about the stubbornness of those Flyers, that is for sure. Even when the Dragon Riders are forced to leave Caldera Cay, after already having been chased away from their home-base, the Edge, they continued to hound them without cease.

They take them by surprise again. After flying for the rest of the day, well after the sun has already set, the Dragon Rider spotted a little island where their dragons could rest for a little while. As a matter of fact, they've been in the sky for so long that slivers of sunlight were already turning the sky lighter shades of blue and yellow on the horizon. Dawn has arrived.

They'd been flying for so long and they were in desperate need of a break. They were quick, nearly speeding across the ocean in the hopes of losing their hunters. The Riders rarely push their dragons in this way.

They landed on the rocky shore and the dragons were grateful to have solid ground beneath their feet.

They couldn't have been on that island for longer than a couple of minutes. All they really managed to do was state that, yes, the Flyers are indeed prepared to fight others on the backs of dragons, trained to deal with an enemy like them.

It is the biggest downside to being the first group of dragon riders in the entire Barbaric Archipelago. The only enemies they are prepared to fight own the ground and own boats, not the sky.

They discussed that and bore witness to Throk pledging his allegiance to one Miss Ruffnut Thorston. None of the Dragon Riders knew why, until Tuffnut informed them all that, apparently, Throk had saved Ruff's life, gotten knocked unconscious by a boulder to the head, and Ruff was playing it off as if she'd been the one to save him.

And that isn't even what truly happened. It were Barf and Belch who'd saved him.

Hiccup would've set the record straight, Tuffnut sure wanted to, but he was simply much too tired. Snotlout was enjoying the entire situation, Fishlegs wasn't one to get himself involved, and Astrid figured there were other, more pressing, matters that needed taking care of first.

Such as the Flyers that attacked them almost immediately after. How they didn't need to set down and rest, the Riders aren't sure. Maybe they're taking turns hunting the Dragon Riders, who are made up of a mere eleven members and not an army like the Flyers appeared to be. Maybe they even have a ship or two that can meet them halfway, making this theory more plausible.

After barely being able to do anything on Defenders of the Wing Island, Toothless had attempted to take a shot at one of them, but as soon as that plasma blast neared, the Flyer he'd aimed for made the Singetail he holds captive rear up and take the blow for him. It was further proof that these dragons are nothing more but a meat shield that this masked stranger somehow knows Hiccup won't hurt.

Astrid may seem ready to hurt them. But not him. He doesn't harm something or someone innocent.

In the end, there was only one option left and that was to head straight for home. For Berk.

With Tiny held against him, a kind of dread grew because Hiccup knows he will have some explaining to do. To make matters worse, on something that he doesn't entirely understand yet, either.

At least Vigi's calmed down since leaving the Defenders. Flying seems to soothe him. Figures.

Then, many more hours of flying pass by and the sun is now high in the sky. The dragons, drained from this trip, can no longer safely do any evasive actions that may confuse the Flyers into thinking they've gone elsewhere. So their hearts and hopes are set on the possibility that Berk might scare them away.

Unlike the Edge, that was once guarded by a small group of Dragon Riders, unlike Caldera Cay, who did not fight dragons, their home island is set in the middle of territory that used to be plagued by the Dragon Scourge. Near weekly raids done by entire packs of dragons for nearly four-hundred years. If these people know the Dragon Riders as well as they appear to, they will know that Berk isn't a place to be trifled with if your weapon and shield is a dragon. Four years of living in harmony with dragons won't undo generations of skill. Taking Berk will take planning. And planning takes time.

Hopefully, enough time for Berk to prepare for whatever these Flyers have planned next.

But the moment of truth finally approaches and it isn't the one that will reveal whether or not the Flyers know what is good for them. It is the decisive moment of how a father will take the Shadow wing bomb of news that he's now a grandfather. And to a child outside of wedlock, though Hiccup has never considered Stoick's feelings on this particular matter. Truthfully, he didn't think he would ever need to consider, until today.

The sun has risen and Berk has appeared in the distance. Their home grows ever closer and He can feel the collective relief of his friends. Both the humans and dragons alike are exhausted and crave the comfort and safety of home, food, and family. And yet he feels his nervousness growing.

Toothless rumbles reassuringly, but his Rider barely picks up on it. His blood is pumping in his ears and there's a lump in his throat that he can't swallow.

His dad has surprised him before, maybe he won't be as angry as Hiccup expects him to be?

Ah, who is he fooling? Stoick will be furious. He trusted his son to be responsible, not return with a child from a relationship, or multiple relationships, that he isn't yet aware of.

They arrive and the Hooligans are as welcoming as ever. Their people, both humans and dragons, gather at the plaza, making sure to keep enough room for the Dragon Riders to land. The twins' mother and Astrid's parents are already there, shouting the names of their children whilst they come running.

Hiccup is somehow both barely aware and too aware. There is a tiny grey area between these two opposites and that is where he remains. He looks around himself, his nerves choking him despite Toothless' many reassurances. Tiny is asleep, as newborns seem to be for ninety percent of their life at this point.

A blue Nightmare approaches and she's drawn to the sling. It makes him wonder if all of Berk's dragon population is just as informed as their dragons seemed to have been. This one doesn't seem to be shocked at all as she greets a baby boy. And she isn't the only one who comes to take a peek.

What a dragon expert he is. An entire pack of over a hundred dragons know of a pregnancy he did not. What did Toothless do to deserve _him_ as a Rider? A tried and true idiot. That is what he is.

He should honestly just resign and live out his days in the forest. Where he can freely scream about his stupidity and what this very unpleasant personality trait might be doing to his loved ones.

Hiccup takes a deep breath to calm his nerves when he spots his father in the crowd. Even amongst people so large, Stoick stands out like a tower and Hiccup feels small all over again. Even while still on top of Toothless' back.

Without a doubt, he has spotted his heir. He's making a beeline straight for him. Hiccup can already imagine his smile. The fact that he's always happy to see his oh so brave and responsible son that he's so proud of somehow makes this even worse.

"You want me to take that, lad?" A helpful man offers to take Hiccup's load and is ready to grab it, too, but he immediately holds it closer to himself, as if its something precious that he isn't allowed to touch. Toothless, too, takes a step back. Both because he can sense his human's distress and because he's more comfortable having the Berkian at what the human's call "at arm's length" as well.

The man gives Hiccup a strange look, but thinks nothing of it. Little does he know how precious it is.

"N-no, that's okay. I got it. Sorry. Thanks." Hiccup awkwardly thanks him for his troubles and attempts to relax. Keyword being "attempts".

"Hiccup, son! You're home!" Stoick is elated to see him again, as he usually is. He has, after all, admitted to Hiccup months ago that he missed his son dearly in his absence. And as Stoick isn't one to speak of his feelings so easily, he hadn't admitted to it lightly.

"Uh, yes. Yes, I am." Hiccup stutters and nervously adjusts himself in the saddle. He pulls on the sling as if wanting to hide what it contains and maybe that is what he is doing.

The other Riders, who are all reuniting with their family, look over, having realized that Stoick has entered the scene as well. They seem to be waiting for Hiccup's next move.

"Son," Noticing his son's ever-growing discomfort, Stoick speaks and receives no answer. It is now painfully silent on the plaza and all eyes are on them. The growing tension between their chief and heir is palpable.

Hiccup swallows and licks his lips. He wants to talk and he opens his mouth, but nothing besides a sorry few "I"s that are barely audible are all the leave him.

Stoick figures that his son's anxiety must be caused by whatever it is that he is holding to his chest and approaches. He thought it was just another dragon hatchling or egg at first and spend little attention on the sling at first. Hiccup has the nasty, though admirable, habit of adopting whatever orphaned dragon he comes across. Torch certainly hadn't been the last juvenile to make his stay at the Haddock household.

But whether their stay was until Hiccup and Fishlegs could locate their parents or until they were ready to leave the nest, never has his son felt the need to hide what Stoick was so certain was just another adoptee.

Toothless nervously stands still, gaze flicking between the approaching man and the ground. He might not have had a hand in Hiccup's situation, but Stoick had trusted him to look after his son and he hadn't done that. Not enough.

Hiccup feels his heart pounding, more than any battle could ever cause it to, and he holds his breath when Stoick finishes what seems to him like both the longest and the quickest walks over ever.

He wasn't about to question the contents of the sling or why his son is wearing clothing that he does not recognize, but Hiccup's behavior makes him want to look. Stoick takes the hem of the sling with an index finger, pulls, and takes a peek.

He isn't sure what he expected to find, but maybe it isn't a small baby that can't be even a month old yet. And one who looks so suspiciously familiar, to boot.

Stoick gazes at Hiccup, there is a stern expression already present on his features, a warning that Hiccup better choose his words carefully.

"Uhm... Dad. We need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Stoick and Hiccup have a talk and Tiny has some bonding time with the Riders.
> 
> Also, when this entire fic has been written and posted, I plan on revising the whole thing.


	8. Grandfather

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's past 3 am. I'm tired and the English language is no longer even a language to me. Once this entire fic is finished, I plan on rewriting it completely, just to really finish it off.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

Hiccup expected his father to be angry. Well, he is, but not in a way he thought he would be.

Usually, Stoick goes right to the point. He'd drag his son into the privacy of their home where no one could eavesdrop on their conversation and then he'd have his say and lecture Hiccup on whatever it is that he's done wrong this time. Or that is the way it used to be before he met Toothless and it is still the way a part of him expects their talks to go. Even now that his father considers him his equal.

They are in the living space of their home. Hiccup sits at the table where Stoick had sternly told him to sit while he, himself, stands quietly at the burning fire pit.

He's staring into the flames with his arms crossed, without a doubt fuming over the news he's received not even ten minutes ago. Their backs are turned to one another.

Meanwhile, Gobber has joined them by now and he has taken a seat on a stool that he's positioned on the sidelines between the two. He's glancing from father to son, patiently waiting for either one of them to speak.

He's been made aware of the surprise his student's come home with and is present to make, what he is sure will turn into an argument, go more smoothly.

It's been a while since he's had to delegate in a dispute between the two Haddocks. In the past four years, Stoick has learned to listen to his son more and not dismiss his feelings and ideas. Hiccup, in return, has been listening to his father more, understanding him more, and disobeying him less.

A mutual effort to bridge the rift that has plagued father and son for years has helped them have a much healthier relationship. It's been healing, for sure, and has helped them grow closer again after so long of spending dinners in complete silence. The worst part being that those dinners were one of the few times they were ever alone together.

But something as big as the birth of a child Stoick wasn't told about... Perhaps there is still a part of Hiccup that worries it might be enough to undo years of work.

Needless to say, unlike Stoick, Gobber isn't angry. Naturally, he has many questions. Like which of the Riders is the father! Or rather, the other father. Or is there someone else that Hiccup might've had a fling with that he hasn't introduced to Gobber yet. And if that is the case, if Gobber is going to have to drag the poor muttonhead back to Berk himself.

Which he finds to be quite an unlikely scenario as the blacksmith has long suspected that something is going on between the six Riders that is different from a close friendship. But whether or not they have an actual relationship, Gobber never looked into.

He has always figured Hiccup would come to him if the time was right. He never would've expected his suspicions to be confirmed through a newborn baby, however.

But however many more questions Gobber may have, those are better asked after the Haddock patriarch has gotten what he needs to say off his chest.

Perhaps he is a little bit disappointed with the six Riders, just a little bit. But what has happened has happened and all that remains now is to focus on this baby.

And just like Gobber is present, so too, is Toothless. He sits near Hiccup on the floor, taking up barely any space despite his large size. He looks about as close to a kicked puppy as a dragon can get. It's as if he's the one about to be lectured by a parent.

And maybe he is. Gobber knows Stoick trusted the Night Fury to keep their mutual loved one safe. That quite possibly included keeping him from making stupid decisions that would, for example, lead to a child.

Well, maybe not specifically a child, just keep Hiccup from generally getting into trouble as Toothless has always been considered more likely to listen to common sense. Stoick had believed his son to be responsible enough to not get into this specific kind of trouble himself.

As for the child in question, he is with the others. Fishlegs has taken him from Hiccup with the knowledge that the baby's father and grandfather may need to have a little chat. Gobber saw them head for the Great Hall before coming here to the Haddock's abode.

He's gotten a looksie at the tyke as well. He looks like a little troublemaker already. Or maybe that is his close resemblance to Hiccup and his past experience with Hiccup talking.

It is like looking at a piece of the past and Gobber briefly sinks into a sense of nostalgia. Where has the time gone? It feels like Hiccup was that small only yesterday, but no, that was nineteen years ago.

And the young man's name is Vigi, so he's been told. Now all that rests is for Stoick to recognize him as kin and the boy will be considered a living human being with all the rights that come with being alive. He'll be an honorary Haddock then.

Ah, he should probably pay attention. One of the two is bound to speak up soon and end this prolonging silence. This tense atmosphere can't keep on going and Hiccup is getting increasingly more bothered by his father's quiet fuming.

So naturally, he is the one to try and speak up first, turning in his chair to face his father.

"Dad-"

"I can't believe you were this irresponsible, son!" Upon hearing his cautious attempt, Stoick turns away from the fire and interrupts him. Hiccup shuts up and turns away again.

His father is already raising his voice. As someone who usually puts effort in keeping his tone calm and low even while scolding his son, that he's raising his tone this soon isn't a good sign. It's telling of how angry Stoick is.

"I did not even expect this kind of carelessness from your friends, let alone from you! Their leader! My heir! If anyone should've known to be careful, it should've been you!" Hiccup's arms are already crossed, a clear and vulnerable sign of defense, but as his father starts his tirade, he grips them even tighter.

Toothless stares at Hiccup in sympathy, at Stoick, and then back at Hiccup. He's about as comfortable as his Rider is. Not at all. He rumbles quietly in support, but though Hiccup's gaze meets his, he doesn't respond.

"I trusted you to know what is best, Hiccup. When I let you leave home to chase whatever it is that you longed to find in the "Great Beyond", I trusted that you would not be a fool and that you would make wise decisions. As a grown man should! As a leader should!" Stoick's disappointment is thick enough that anyone present in the room could taste it and Hiccup hangs his head further, shrinking in his seat.

Though usually able to at least stare his father in the eye during a lecture, he doesn't have the heart to even go through this one. Displeasing his father when so much trust had been put on his shoulders hurt and only added to the guilt weighing him down the past two days and a half.

And that he does not face his father does not sit well with the man and he sees it as disrespect.

"A child, Hiccup!" He continues, throwing his hands up.

"Do you realize the weight of the mistake you have made?!" Stoick attempts to question him, to make him realize the severity of his situation, but Toothless quickly protests at this.

He knows humans usually fix things with words and not, say, shows of dominance or submission. So words are what he tries, even though he can't speak a single syllable of the human language.

He just wants to tell him like it is, that Hiccup does realize and that the last thing he needs now is a rant. He already doesn't feel well, he doesn't need Stoick to make him feel even worse. But his protest is in growls and the Chief glares at the dragon for cutting him off.

"Not now, Toothless!" He dismisses the Night Fury, telling him to not disrupt them.

Toothless tries again.

"Not now, Toothless!"

"I don't know, Stoick. Sounds to me like Toothless has a thing or two to say about what you're accusing Hiccup of." After staying quiet so far, Gobber weighs in as well, but his Chief isn't listening to him either. He sends the blacksmith an angry look and he merely shrugs. He'll just have to try sometime later.

"He doesn't have anything to say, this is between me and my son!" Stoick states and begins to pace, further worsening the tensity in the room.

"It's okay, Bud." Hiccup tells Toothless and pats his nose, causing him to momentarily back down. Though Stoick mutters a "No, nothing is "okay" about this" as he rubs his face.

"Did you ever stop and think about the consequences? Did you ever wonder if you would be prepared to face your mistake? Ever wondered how this would affect you? Or this child? It doesn't appear to me like you did. And you're offering me no explanation to your actions either!" Stoick is frustrated. He wishes Hiccup would contribute to this so far very one-sided argument, would tell him his reasoning behind his thoughtless actions. Instead, he's barely uttered a word so far.

"It's nothing I haven't been through before." Hiccup mutters, referring specifically to said consequences. Though more so to himself than to his father.

Stoick worries this might affect his son's status and reputation in the village. He's still the hero, the Pride of Berk, but larger men and women have fallen for far less.

But having spent years as the village outcast, the weirdo, the disgrace of an heir, he's not so sure if that, in particular, is the worst thing that can happen to him right now.

But what is simply a thought spoken out loud, Stoick mistakes for a comment.

"Hiccup! Now is not the time for your sass, this is serious! How do you continue to fail to grasp the severity of your situation?" The longer this discussion continues, all the more frustrated with his son does Stoick get.

"I'm not, I'm-"

Once again Toothless tries to intervene. Unfortunately, as a dragon, he can't say much besides the growls and roars that he makes and they don't help Hiccup. They only serve to make Stoick more annoyed with him.

"Toothless, I'm warning you! One more time and you're waiting outside!" The Chief warns him and the Night Fury stubbornly lies down with a snort, though he doesn't want to back off. He's intent on staying.

"Toothless-"

Hiccup turns on his seat to face his father.

"Don't get mad at him, he just wants to help! It's been a hard couple of days for him, too, he just doesn't want all this yelling-"

"It's been a busy couple of days? Unfortunately for you, son, it'll be a busy couple of years from now on! Raising a child of your own is hard!" The lecture continues and Hiccup can only stare tiredly at his father as he's cut off again, reeling by how challenging this conversation is.

He knows it's difficult. These past two days have been hard on him already and most of Vigi's time so far is spend sleeping.

"Yeah, I know." So he mumbles.

"Doesn't sound like you do to me. Or you wouldn't have been so reckless!" Stoick disagrees.

With a sigh, Hiccup turns back around on his seat. He rests his elbows on the table before him. He doesn't see the point in trying to argue with his father and he feels like he's fifteen-years-old again. Once again, Stoick the Vast is like a wall to him.

Noticing Hiccup deflating in the face of the nigh impossibility of partaking in this discussion with his father, Gobber decides to step in.

"Stoick, don't you think it's time to let the boy go for now? I'm just saying, the baby has probably been keeping him up, he's had a long journey home, looks like he's about to fall over any moment..." He brings up Hiccup's sorry state.

"And that's another thing! You traveled all this way with a young infant? All across the ocean? On dragonback?! Did you truly think that would be a wise thing to do?" Instead of Gobber helping, he brings another issue to his friend's attention, causing the blacksmith to roll his eyes.

"Dad, please, believe me, I had no other choice!" This time Hiccup does attempt to defend himself.

"Yes, you did! You could've sent us a message and asked us to come over as opposed to risking the life of a newborn babe in coming here!"

"If you would just let me explain why we're here..." Hiccup attempts again, but with a simple raise of his hand does Stoick silence him. Again.

"Stoick," Gobber speaks up again and gives his old friend a look that tells him the let it rest for now.

Stoick stares at his oldest friend and right-hand man for a long, contemplative moment. Silence returns. After a deep sigh and a rub in his eyes, he finally relents.

"Fine. Hiccup, go to the Great Hall. Your new responsibilities are also there waiting." Though he's letting his son go, at last, he still can't help but express his dismay even as he dismisses him.

Toothless doesn't need to be told twice. He gets up from the floor and with a moan, he takes and pulls on Hiccup's hand to get him up quickly and out of the house faster.

While looking away from his father on the way, Hiccup sends Gobber an appreciative glance for ending this unpleasant conversation sooner and follows the dragon outside.

That has gone just about as terrible as he'd thought it would go.

* * *

In the Great Hall, the Dragon Riders are getting a good meal as they wait for Hiccup to eventually rejoin them.

"How do you think their talk is going?" Fishlegs asks nervously. His hands would be playing with something if he wasn't already holding Vigi.

"Judging by how angry the Chief looked when he grabbed Hiccup by the arm and dragged him away? Just fine!" Snotlout sarcastically responds, shrugging.

"I hate to say it, but Snotlout is probably right. Even if it's about the last thing Hiccup needs." Astrid adds worriedly. She hates to think about her Chief in this manner, but Stoick can still be a little bit... dense when it comes to Hiccup's feelings. Of which he, being Hiccup, has plenty and they can be quite intense. Stoick might not entirely pick up on the fact that the last thing he needs right now is a lecture.

"Should we try and help?" Tuffnut honestly suggests.

"Like how?"

"I don't know, tell him the whole story?" He then gestures vaguely.

"Hiccup didn't know, after all. Maybe the Chief will be nicer if he knows." Ruffnut adds, thinking of a way to help just like her brother.

"And who will be the one to do that? Let's face it, the only one really brave enough to talk to Stoick when he's angry is Hiccup. And Hiccup is the one currently being yelled at right now!" Snotlout has a point, even if the rest of the Riders don't like to admit that there is little they can do to help.

Silence briefly falls over the hall. There aren't too many people present at this time. The few that are or were here have already come to greet the child.

"Well now, he looks just like Hiccup as a babe!" One even stated and it made Ruffnut go into a small rant about how everyone agreed that Vigi is just a tinier version of Hiccup and that Tiny is therefore the perfect name for him.

"When he gets here, we should help him feel better," Fishlegs suggests they do.

"I know what's making me feel better right now. These muttons on a stick." Snotlout says, leaning back in his chair and proceeding to munch on his food.

"I know something that will make him feel better. You properly apologizing to him!" Astrid then brings up she's been wanting to talk with him about, facing the Jorgenson.

"Apologize? For what?"

"For that comment you made about his chest." Ruffnut answers and Tuffnut nods curtly. Everyone but him seems to know what Astrid means.

"He's insecure about himself all over again! You better do something about that when he gets there." Astrid instructs him and she does so in a stern manner.

"Fine, I'll apologize!" Snot rolls with his eyes, but Astrid knows him well enough that she can at least be somewhat sure that he'll finally give Hiccup a decent apology.

Snotlout looks down at his mutton again, a rather guilty expression on his face now that this issue has been brought to his attention. He thought all was good after he helped Hiccup when he was too tired and frazzled to realize what Vigi needed. Hiccup certainly wasn't showing him any signs that he was still bothered by his comment. There is a nagging in his chest that he doesn't like.

As if on cue, the doors are pushed open to reveal Hiccup and Toothless.

"Speak of the Terrible Terror, there he is!" Tuffnut exclaims, arms wide open.

"Hey, guys." Hiccup greets them. The table they chose to sit at isn't far from the door, so reaching his friends is a matter of seconds.

"How did it go?" Astrid is on her feet and with him in an instant. Fishlegs, too, stands up.

"Badly. Gobber got me out." Hiccup replies and pulls one of the available chairs closer to drop down on.

"I'm sure he'll come around Hiccup. He loves you!" Fishlegs is encouraging and smiles in such a way, but all Hiccup has eyes for is the child in his arms.

"Yeah, I know. Mind giving me Vigi?" He asks and outstretches his hands towards the other young man to receive him.

Astrid gives him a look.

"Are you sure? You've been holding him almost constantly since his birth. It's okay to rest your arms once in a while. Plenty of others to hold him." She tells him, figuring Hiccup might've been a little grateful with the rest his arms are getting. Babies are dead weight at this point in their lives, even light ones like Tiny.

Hiccup gives her a strange look.

"I don't mind." He insists.

"Not to be rude, but we haven't really gotten to hold him yet. Can we hold him for a little while longer, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asks and Hiccup lowers his hands slowly.

"Yeah. Sure." He replies reluctantly and tries to ignore how uncomfortable that makes him feel.

It shouldn't and he's not sure where this is suddenly coming from. The Riders were there when Vigi was born, Fishlegs even helped deliver him and bathed him. This shouldn't be a problem. And yet, his arms itch for something to hold. They itch for his son.

"Speaking of, I wanna hold him!" Tuffnut says, standing up and approaching Fishlegs, who searches for permission with Hiccup.

"Can he?"

Hiccup's answer takes a while.

"I guess," He guesses? All eyes are on him and after his awkward answer. They continue to stare until Fishlegs hands Vigi over.

"Support his head! His neck isn't strong enough to support it yet." He informs Tuff, who nods with a grin.

"Tiny is weak! Got it!" Though they aren't quite the words Fishlegs used, Tuffnut repeats them back to him in his own version. For someone so chaotic and a love to break, he is gentle with the child.

"Hey there, Tiny! It's your other dad! Popsnut!" He officially introduces himself, something he hasn't had the chance to do before. Not properly.

"Oh Gods," Astrid is heard whispering under her breath.

Snotlout looked for a reaction with Ruff, who nods in approval. He throws his hands up.

"Oh come on! Popslout is lame, but Popsnut somehow isn't?!" He complains.

"Not everything has to be about you, Snotlout."

"What kind of an answer is that?!"

"Aw, but look at how tiny Tiny is! He so precious and small and asleep!" Tuffnut states, tenderly holding the child in his arms while trying not to burst into tears. This is truly a magical moment for him.

Ruff has to keep from sighing, never having been the baby type. The magic is wearing off for her. She still loves Tiny, of course, she does, she just isn't much of a fan of the baby stage in a human's life.

"Oh look, Ruff! He's holding my finger!" Still, though, she looks over.

Meanwhile, Astrid decides to use this moment to turn to Hiccup, who is nervously fidgetting with restless hands as he watches the twins.

"Hey," she starts, placing a hand on his knee to grab his attention. Hiccup's gaze flicks over to her before they return to his point of interest.

"You okay?" She asks, to which he silently nods. Toothless bumps into him on purpose with his side, encouraging him to talk.

"It's not that I don't trust you guys. You know that, right? It's just..." He sighs and can't find the words to finish his sentence. He's not sure how to explain it.

"First baby? That you didn't know about? And now you're a little afraid to let him go for even a second?" She asks, not lost on this.

It's to be expected. They've all been through a lot and Hiccup has even slept with that child in his arms. That is how little he has let go of him. Fishlegs has held him for a bit, Snotlout has, Astrid has, but all just once or twice and not for long either. And only when it was necessary.

That is what Astrid figures. And though she is absolutely correct, Hiccup knows it's also because of that new darkness festering inside his mind.

Letting go of Vigi almost feels like subjecting him to possible harm that he can't control. Just like before he knew of his existence. It's his job as a parent to keep that from happening, like he has let it happen during his pregnancy.

"Yeah," But he doesn't tell Astrid that. Instead, he sticks to her reason alone.

While Fishlegs' attention is firmly on the twins and Tiny, Snotlout has been eavesdropping on the conversation. His gaze is on the three of them, but his attention is not. Sighing as well, he figures that there is something he needs to say.

"Hey, Hiccup," Hiccup looks back at him as Snotlout turns to him, plate of mutton shoved to the side, remaining unfinished. His elbows lean on the table as his thumb twiddle nervously. He's never been good with this kind of stuff, though he has grown in the past four years.

"Sorry about my comment the other day? I-I didn't mean anything by it. I really didn't! But I know it still hurt and I should've known better. So... I'm sorry for hurting you." Snotlout's apology feels genuine enough and his gaze is downcast in a show of vulnerability that he doesn't show often. Astrid smiles at least, though the comment never should've been made, knowing Hiccup's insecurities.

It's quiet for a moment and Hiccup keeps glancing towards the twins, but he answers Snotlout soon enough.

"Uh, thank you. I really appreciate it." He tells him and smiles at him. It might not take away his insecurities, but it is nice.

Snotlout sometimes says dumb things that he either doesn't mean or didn't intend to hurt and then he often comes to regret them, but that doesn't make those words unsaid. Hiccup has been in that same situation more times than even he can count. So he supposes that it is nice to be apologized to.

Snotlout begins to smile and pulls his mutton back to him, proud of having made this apology. Jorgenson men usually don't say sorry. His father, Spitelout, has certainly taught him not to. It's been a slow and steep climb uphill to unlearn that.

Astrid looks rather unimpressed with this sudden pride in himself, but at least he's done what she told him to do. And much sooner than she would've expected from him. She looks at Hiccup, who already has his undivided attention back on the three Riders and the baby they're cooing at.

* * *

Some minutes earlier, back at the Haddock household, the door closes behind Hiccup and Toothless and silence returns as the Berkian Chief continues to fume, his back is turned towards the front entrance.

Gobber watches him and contemplates the proper way to formulate the thoughts that have been swirling in his mind ever since he heard the news. Not that he is known for wording his thoughts carefully.

"Stoick-"

"Gobber." Stoick attempts to stop him, knowing that the blacksmith is about to say something in Hiccup's defense. He always does. Ever since the lad was only a young boy, he would defend him.

_"Ah, Stoick, don't be so hard on the boy! Those drawings make the wall look much nicer anyway. He's very artistic for his age!"_

_"So he somehow lost your axe on your fishing trip! He's excited to become a successful dragon killer like his old man!"_

_"Listen, Stoick, I know he burned down most of the armory, but that sorry thing was bound to come down sooner or later. Hiccup just made it happen faster!"_

But as per Gobber, he isn't about to let a warning tone from his Chief stop him.

"Are we remembering things wrong?" He asks cryptically with a knowing smile instead of simply telling his old friend what he is thinking. His elbow with the mug prosthetic leans on his knee.

"Remember what wrong, Gobber?" A sigh narily leaves Stoick before he asks. He doesn't have the time or energy for this, but he also knows he can't stop the blacksmith from saying whatever it is that is on his mind.

"Hiccup's visit from a couple of weeks ago? Do you remember? He'd come home because the Dragon Riders were getting a little homesick. Because he was homesick! Even if he won't say. The lad is just as stubborn as his old man sometimes." Gobber says, painting the picture of Berk's Dragon Riders' last visit home.

"What of it, Gobber?" Stoick asks with a hand palming his forehead. He feels a headache brewing.

"Do you remember what Hiccup looked like? Healthy, well-rested, devilishly handsome. A trait I'm sure he's gotten from me-"

"Gobber-"

"And not grown in the slightest! Not in height, nor weight! Okay, maybe just an inch in height. But still the scrawniest thing in the entire Barbaric Archipelago!" Gobber finishes, proud of his speech as he feels like he's already won this argument.

"Gobber, what in the name of Thor are you..." Stoick is about to question him, ask him why all of this matters before it clicks for him just as it had already clicked for Gobber.

He, too, suddenly remembers that Hiccup didn't look all that different from what he usually looks like. He didn't even look all that different from what he looks like now! Especially for someone who was, presumably, in his third trimester at the time.

Hiccup hadn't grown, had continued to travel, had even spoken about some remaining Dragon Hunters lurking around the Edge that he and Toothless had chased away last time they were on Berk.

"Hiccup didn't know." And just like that Stoick feels like a fool. He drops down on a nearby stool with a realization so heavy. The stool is almost comedically small beneath this mountain of a man. He rests his elbows on his knees with a sigh and his forehead is in his hands.

He's done it again, hasn't he? He's hurt Hiccup.

He doesn't understand how it could've possibly happened, but it explains Toothless' behavior as well. While Hiccup wasn't exactly putting up much of a fight, the dragon was protesting more to Stoick accusations and this explains why.

Though very much like his Rider, Toothless doesn't disobey authority as much as he does. If anything, he respects it more than Hiccup does. That he would protest whenever Stoick questions his son's integrity as a responsible heir and parent was probably a sign that he didn't just disagree, but that he was angry.

Gobber drags his chair closer to him with loud, annoying dragging sounds as a result. His hand lands on the man's shoulder in a show of support. He is above telling Stoick "I told you so", but not above a little knowing smirk when he glances back at him.

"Gods, I need to apologize."

"And you needed to do it, like the kids say, "like, yesterday"! And let the boy properly explain himself this time. Call Gothi, too, while you're at it." Gobber adds and not just to Stoick's to-do list, but his feelings of shame as well.

"And call Gothi! Gods! Am I truly such a wretched father that I completely forget to think of the health of my son?" He questions himself, wonders if the one who is the irresponsible father in their family is him.

"Well,"

"Don't, Gobber."

And while he's at it, he should ask his son what he meant by having no other choice but to make the near two-day flight to Berk.

"You forgot to think about the health of your grandson, too!"

"And I forgot to think about my grand... son." The words roll off his tongue with some trouble, but not because of the anger he felt just moments ago, which has completely melted away the instant Gobber enlightened him to Hiccup's situation.

Stoick finds them too unreal to be true, even after seeing the boy with his own two eyes and lecturing Hiccup about the consequences of bringing him into the world.

He has a grandson and Hiccup has a son. He's a grandfather now! He, Stoick the Vast, feels like trembling.

Rubbing in his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Stoick finds he still needs some convincing. He might repeat it a thousand times inside his mind and still not quite get it.

Gobber nudges him with his elbow.

"I believe you just send your son and his dragon to the Great Hall, where your grandson also conveniently is. Might be interesting to follow him and properly meet the little tyke." Gobber suggests and Stoick finds that he agrees. He should follow Hiccup, meet with him at the Great Hall, tell him he's sorry, and have a meal with him.

"Gods, how do I set this right?" He wonders as he stands up and makes his way over to the front door. He isn't expecting Gobber to answer, he's simply thinking out loud.

Well, first he has to go to the Great Hall.

* * *

"Ruffnut, why don't you take him?" In the Great Hall, Fishlegs makes a suggestion knowing that the other Thorston twin hasn't been able to hold him yet either.

Astrid has had the chance, so did Fishlegs and he even gave Vigi his very first bath. Snotlout has been given the chance and now so has Tuffnut, who still holds him. All the remains is Ruffnut and then every Rider has held him.

The Dragons are sure to follow someday soon.

"Eh, I don't know," Ruffnut says uncertainly, crossing her arms and cocking a hip to the side.

"I don't do so well with babies. They don't like me and I don't like them!" She states, raising a hand in her defense. For all her cooing at Tiny and baby dragons, she isn't quite so fond of them. Never quite saw herself as the motherly type either.

"Ruffnut, you're going to be a part of this baby's life. Whether you like it or not, that means occasionally holding him, too." Astrid informs her. They're all with Hiccup on this and not because they have to, but because they want to. And that will involve holding the child they're trying to raise from time to time.

"Yeah, holding time is important bonding time!" Fishlegs rhymes with a grin in an attempt to persuade her. And though she still looks uncertain, Ruff is fond of the idea of bonding with little Tiny.

And then Hiccup weighs in.

"Y-you don't have to, though." He tells her, but not quite for Ruff's own comfort. He's awkwardly objecting to the idea of unnecessarily holding his son when he has two perfectly functioning arms, just like he did with her brother.

But that is not the way the rest of the Riders see it and Toothless also rumbles questioningly.

"Hiccup, she's just going to hold him. She's the only one who hasn't had the chance to yet." Astrid argues and Hiccup's fists clench on his lap. Well, she's the only one of the Riders. And the Dragons certainly can't hold him, though Toothless has slept with the boy cuddled up to him.

"I know, I know. But I would still prefer her to be a little more sure of herself when she holds my three-day-old." He has every right to be a little concerned when he puts it like that. Confidence is key in a lot of things, including holding fragile humans.

However, it does Ruffnut's confidence little favors.

She stares at him with an expression of heartbreak that she can't hide. She knows she isn't too sure about this, but apparently, Hiccup doesn't trust her either?

"Yeah, maybe Hiccup is right." So she decides, taking a step back, and Tuffnut mutters a "wow, that's kinda mean, H". Astrid gives Hiccup a displeased glare.

It's important to her that every Rider has equal opportunity to bond with this child. It's important to them all! Especially since he'll be very dependent on Hiccup for at least the coming year.

It's a joy to hold him. Astrid wishes the others to experience this joy as well.

"Can I hold him? I'm sure of myself!" Snotlout speaks up. Ever since their flight to the Defenders of the Wing, he hasn't been allowed to have him in his arms again.

"Uh," Tuffnut hesitates, not sure if he's ready to say goodbye to tiny Vigi yet.

In the meantime, Ruffnut slinks into the background, sinking on a chair with her arms crossed and her shoulders hunched.

Despite her lack of trust in herself, Hiccup's lack of trust in her hurt more.

Hiccup's gaze is on her, remorse nagging at him for showing one of his best friends such little faith. He's hurt her, he knows he has and Astrid knows it, too, by the way she's glaring at him. For as much as she and the twins tend to not get along, she still won't stand to see either one of the two hurt.

Their gazes meet and Hiccup knows she's giving him that "we're talking about this later" look.

But the double doors to the Great Hall opening grabs the Riders' attention when Tuff is just about to hand Snotlout Vigi.

Though Hiccup's odd behavior is causing some tension, it doesn't truly rise in the hall until Chief Stoick the Vast walks in.

"Oh Gods," Hiccup mutters, wishing he could just about disappear. He has quite a bit on his plate already, he wishes not to get another lecture. He sinks lower on the chair as if hoping to go unnoticed.

The doors closing behind him, Stoick's gaze scouts the hall until it meets his son's and he approaches. There is a weight to every step.

"Uh, should we leave?" Snotlout asks, uncertainly. He's the one holding Tiny now. That boy won't ever be put down with six devoted caretakers to raise him.

It's quiet as Stoick reaches them and uncomfortably so, but it quickly becomes clear to them all that this isn't the Chief who has come to them, but their friend's father.

"Um..." He starts with an air of awkwardness that usually only Hiccup and Gobber get to see. His hands clasp together as he searches for the right words, his eyes falling on every one of the young adults before him.

"I would like to have a moment with my son." He requests them. Astrid and Ruffnut get up to follow Fishlegs and Tuffnut as they leave. Snotlout looks at the Chief and the Riders, not sure what he is to do since he's the one holding the child Stoick's and Hiccup's next conversation is undoubtedly going to be about.

"In a moment, Snotlout. Go to your friends." Stoick answers his unasked inquiry and he leaves to join the others at a different table. They are far enough away to give the two privacy, but not too far.

At hearing his father's tone and seeing his posture, Hiccup straightens hopefully in his seat. That isn't the behavior of a man who has come with some choice words.

"Dad?" Hiccup starts and watches Stoick pull the chair that used to be Astrid's just a second earlier and sit down in front of him.

He sits on the edge, hands rubbing together while his elbows lean on his knees.

"Well, son, as you might've figured out by now, Gobber has talked with me." He starts and Toothless grumbles.

"Yes, I know, Toothless. I... I should've let your Rider talk." Toothless smugly nods, agreeing with Stoick's assessment. That dragon can be salty.

Stoicks glances at him, unsure of how to tackle this situation. Hiccup is patiently waiting, which helps him find a start to this conversation.

With a son like him to raise, Stoick has needed to conjure up more patience than he ever has or ever will for anyone else. But he has learned in the past couple of years, that this is a mutual experience.

"Gobber has made me realize that you might not have even known you were expecting to have a child." Having a look at his son now, Stoick can see that Hiccup really hasn't changed much physically. Well, the tired look is new and he might even be slightly skinnier.

Hiccup adjusts himself on the chair.

"I didn't. I really didn't. If I'd known, I would've taken a step back. You can ask Toothless, he knew. All the dragons did, apparently, even the ones here on Berk. They all tried to tell me, too, but I never caught on. I'm not sure what that says about me." He admits guiltily, Toothless croons in support and bumps into him with his shoulder.

"I can't imagine you had any reason to believe that they were trying to tell you what they were trying to tell you." Stoick attempts to help, but Hiccup huffs and rubs the back of his neck.

He's been thinking about it. Dragons have given him the occasional gifts in the past four years since Vikings and dragons have come to live together in harmony. But in the past nine months, they've been doing it a lot more and a lot of food, too. No longer whatever shiny they found and thought "oh cool, maybe Hiccup might like this!", but just food.

Especially during the days when the Submaripper had been chained down in the Straits of Baldur. There had been a famine with no traders coming to Berk and dragons had gone out of their way to provide him with food. It had garnered him quite a few nasty looks, being the one who had lost Berk's gold to purchase the supplies necessary to lessen their suffering.

Hiccup didn't know what to think about the dragons' generosity at the time. He'd taken it as just that! Generosity! Now knowing that they knew about Vigi long before he had, it's clear that they simply wanted to provide for him when he and other humans couldn't.

It pays to be held in high regard in a dragon pack, apparently.

"Ah, I want you to know that I'm not angry anymore. I never should've been angry. What you need is my support, not a lecture. I'm sorry for drawing my conclusions when I should've let you talk. I'm so sorry, son." Stoick apologizes, admitting to his wrong in front of his son and the Riders.

"It's fine." Hiccup responds, prosthetic scraping against the ground when he kicks at some dirt lying at his feet.

It's not fine. Not quite and Stoick can tell. But whether this has to do with their one-sided argument or something else, that he can't quite tell.

"Are you sure? If there is something you want to talk about, I won't judge you. Not anymore." Stoick reassures him. Years of mutual effort to heal their relationship and still it can be so hard to communicate with his father.

"I don't... We don't have to... I'm... I'm just really tired, dad." Hiccup responds, not quite feeling up for sharing the thoughts and feelings that have been plaguing him for almost three days now.

"Oh, um, okay. Just know that you can always come to me if you need anything. Raising a child will be difficult and I want you to know I am here for you. You're not alone in this." Stoick responds. He wants Hiccup to know he's safe with him and at home.

"Y-yeah, I know. I just don't want to talk right now." Hiccup still repeats. Stoick nods in resignation.

He's done it now, hasn't he? Has his last outburst caused his son to draw away from him completely?

It's agonizingly quiet and that despite the loud snoring of a nearby Berkian that has just passed out with their face on the table.

"So you, uh... You wanna meet him?" Hiccup cautiously asks, realizing that Stoick hasn't properly met Vigi yet. He's seen him for a moment, but that's about it.

Stoick gives Hiccup a look of meaning.

"I'd love to."

Standing up from his chair, Hiccup walks over to his Riders, who'd been either trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation out of respect or had been actively eavesdropping out of love or sheer curiosity.

Snotlout hands Vigi over and just as fate would have it, the boy is awake for this meeting.

"Hey there," Hiccup greets him, feeling much more at ease with him in his arms.

Returning to his father, Hiccup does so with a smile. Stoick watches him, straightening in his seat, heart pounding as he comes closer with a fur-wrapped bundle. When Hiccup stands before him, he hesitates.

"I've-I've named him Vigi. Not the most intimidating name, but it means "fighter" and I think that suits him perfectly." He peeks downwards with an expression of joy that Stoick doesn't miss. He carefully hands him little Vigi.

"Be careful." He almost tells him and this while knowing he is capable of great care despite his famous strength.

Stoick lifts an eyebrow when Hiccup mutters something nearly unintelligible, but swiftly turn his attention back down at the child he's given while Hiccup sits back down opposite to him.

Now properly meeting his grandson, what the Chief sees is the smallest child he's held since his own. His hair is messy and red and there is a lot of it for someone so young. His eyes are blue.

"Ah, he looks just like you did when you were freshly born." He claims.

"You left your mother with hair redder than a dragon's fire and eyes bluer than the bluest sky. You looked like a troublemaker even back then." He chuckles, though Vigi is admittedly a bit bigger than Hiccup was at the time.

Understandably so as Hiccup had been born too early. That his grandson isn't as small or as skinny simply means that, when he came, it was his time to come.

A miniature version of Hiccup, that is what he's looking at. He smiles a toothless smile without understanding what a smile even is and Stoick feels his heart-melting. If he weren't such a fool, he could've held the babe much sooner than this. Could've shown him to every member of the tribe, too!

This is his heir, Stoick realizes. This is Hiccup's heir. Just as small as him and possibly just as promised for greatness.

At that moment, Stoick can already see it. Vigi, a great Dragon Rider just like his father. Perhaps, he will inherit Hiccup's innate ability to understand and communicate with dragons!

And he will grow up in a time of peace. That which Stoick had sought for his son so long ago, Hiccup had managed to assure for his. A world without the constant threat of death from the skies.

Suddenly, there is an overwhelming sense of pride that Stoick can hardly contain. He could never fathom he would ever be more proud of his heir than he already was and yet, here he is. Swelling with more pride and joy he has ever felt in his entire life.

A boisterous laugh leaves him and Hiccup lets out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He slouches back in his chair in relief. Content with Stoick's reaction, Toothless purrs at his Rider, who pats his head.

Off to the side, the Riders, too, sag in relief.

"Ah, a true Viking this one! I can already see it. He'll ride dragons and he'll be the kind of man who will inspire both fear and admiration! Much like the Viking who fathered him!" Stoick announces loudly, drawing the attention of a few drunkards that have been hanging around in the Great Hall with a full mug and friendly company.

If there is something that is guaranteed to make his heart soar, it's his dad expressing his pride in him and Hiccup allows himself to take it in.

"You have a fine dad, Vigi," Stoick tells the joyous child as if he's already capable of nodding in understanding or expressing in any way that he knows what the man with the loud voice is talking about.

He's so loud Vigi sometimes isn't quite sure how to feel about the volume of his voice. The smile is there, but sometimes his face contorts into a grimace as if he wants to wail.

"He'll do right by you," Stoick adds without noticing and gazes at his son with a look of happiness. Hiccup doesn't know when his eyes got watery, he would rather prefer he stopped crying, but he wipes at his face.

"Ah, son," Stoick gets up and moves his chair to stand next to Hiccup as he sits down by his side. With one arm holding the child, his free one settles around his shoulder and he pulls him closer. Like this, he's holding both his son and his grandson.

Ah, his grandson! He has one of those now! And a fine young man he is!

"This boy couldn't have asked for a better man to raise him." He reiterates.

"The Dragon Riders want to help." Hiccup informs him and Stoick huffs in amusement.

"They better since I assume one of them helped. You've been through some strange things, son, but I don't think even you can have a child on your own without outside help."

"Yet. It's Hiccup, he'll find a way!" Snotlout says off to the side. The five of them are still very much listening in on their talk.

Stoick and Hiccup briefly look their way, unamused with his interruption. They quickly turn their attention back to their moment together.

The former speaks again.

"You'll do great with this boy. It's not going to be easy. And if this boy is anything like you, he'll love getting into trouble. He'll break lots of stuff when he wants to help, too. He'll probably draw all over your walls. And will be using the practice axe you will have the local blacksmith and family friend make him as a paperweight. He might even draw you mad sometimes-"

"Dad!" Hiccup stops him, quickly having quite enough of having childhood embarrassments thrown back at him.

"But I have faith in you. In all six of you." Stoick's words are meaningful to hear.

"Thanks, dad." Hiccup tells him gratefully and rests his head on his shoulder.

From now on, Hiccup won't be having an easy time, but he's strong and determined and Stoick has faith in him. He also has a loving community to fall back on whenever he needs it. The Dragon Riders, they'll be there with him every step of the way.

And in the meantime, all Stoick can do is promise to do his duty as a grandfather to both Hiccup and Vigi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm never quite sure if I'm going overboard with Hiccup's feelings of guilt. Because they are there and they are one of the things that are the most on his mind at the moment. So it makes sense to bring them up occasionally, especially when they are so pervasive with someone like Hiccup, who already tends to easily blame himself when things go wrong.


	9. Adjusting? Not Quite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES! IT IS HERE! AFTER TWO WEEKS OF TRYING TO EDIT THIS THING, HERE IT FINALLY IS! *sobs* And it used to be a little over 8k words when I first started editing it!  
> So, first, I got caught up with Whumptober, then I managed to get some work done on this chapter, then I got a little caught up in a November writing challenge, then got caught up in Winter Whumperland in December, which is why this chapter took me months to write.  
> Those prompts were just too good not to use.
> 
> Also, this chapter introduces another OC. I need her for the plot.
> 
> I've also since posting the last episode rewatched some of RoB, including the episode 'The Terrible Twos'. It's a shame it took me so long to notice, but the way Hiccup handles Torch suggests some knowledge of childcare, which I found a little surprising, but it makes sense.
> 
> Constructive criticism is appreciated.  
> Enjoy!

"And then this Masked Stranger, he-"

"Chased us from the Defenders of the Wing all the way to Berk. We managed to lose them on the way here, but like I've told you before, they know more about us than we know about them." Hiccup interrupts his father, who paces around the living room of their home.

"It's possible that they stopped chasing us because we were almost home." He sighs, not liking this as this may suggest the Flyers know enough to know that Berk is their home.

Usually, interrupting the Chief doesn't go over so well with Stoick, but they've been on this conversation for a while already, repeating the stories Hiccup and his Riders have already given him.

But it's for a good reason as it's not every day that a band of fellow dragon riders, a band much, much bigger than your own, comes to take your island by force for seemingly no reason. If they can even be called dragon riders with the way they treat their Singetails.

Hiccup is sitting on the stairs leading up to his loft. He's watching his father go from one end of the living room to another. Vigi is with him, as he always will be at that age, and sleeps in his sling.

The tunic he wears is still the blue one Mala gifted him, she told him it is his to keep if he wishes and he has. It's not his usual green or red, but he finds himself growing fond of the color. The sling is still the same one provided to him by Mala, too. Though not typically Hooligan, it's sturdy and soft and Vigi sleeps well in it. That's all he needs this sling to be.

"Hmm, no wonder you lot didn't get any rest. Can't imagine it was easy on the boy." Stoick muses further about what they've faced, referring to his grandson.

He has the full story on Vigi's unexpected birth now, too. And besides the lack of weight gain, they've also discussed the lack of morning sickness, lack of fatigue, the lack of everything except for a more sensitive sense of smell.

The dragons might've been a good indicator, but even then, how could the Riders ever figure out that their recent overprotective behavior was due to one of them being with child. Especially when the more likely explanation would've been said Rider's long history of getting in danger or getting hurt.

Hiccup was simply dealt some misfortune, though they are certainly fond of the end result.

Stoick glances at his recently extended family, watches Hiccup fiddle with the sling.

There's a perfectly good crib to let Vigi sleep in, the very same one that once belonged to Hiccup. Put a soft enough blanket near Toothless and the boy can even be left safely on the ground with a dragon much, much larger than him to watch over and protect him. Instead, however, Hiccup chooses to burden his back.

Baby's weigh, and though Vigi isn't a particularly big baby, he'll grow. It's in Hiccup's best interest to spare his back as much as he can.

"No, it wasn't easy on him. He's so young and he's already had to deal with so much." But thinking of Stoick's last question, Vigi really has had it tough and Hiccup tells him as much. He looks down at his son with a look that is both tired and heartbroken. No child of any age should have to go through a battle like that, even if they're at an age that they won't remember.

Hiccup knows what it's like to grow up in a war, to be faced with the daily fear his life or someone else's could meet a terrible end in flames. He doesn't wish that kind of life on Vigi.

But as awful as that is, Stoick wonders about a different matter.

Hiccup doesn't really leave the boy with the other Riders either. For as much as they'll be helping in his raising, they haven't played that big of a part in the overall first week of his life. This is largely not their fault as Hiccup rarely leaves him alone, only if absolutely necessary.

His father finds this quite concerning. There is caring for your newborn child and then there is watching over them 24 hours a day 7 days a week. As if tearing your eyes away from them for even a second puts the child in question in danger of being harmed.

He recognized similar behavior in Hiccup's late mother, Valka, once when he was an infant. The biggest difference is that Hiccup had been born much too early while Gothi is certain Vigi came when he needed to.

Hiccup hasn't slept much either and that while Stoick has so far been pleasantly surprised by how long Vigi sleeps between his needs. His meals are a little over every two hours, just like they are supposed to be at that age.

He's saving his energy, for sure. Once he crawls, he'll be keeping them all on their toes, of that Stoick is certain. Hiccup's done much of the same.

In his earliest years, his son was entirely too fascinated by fire, shiny objects, and anything that moved and breathed. He needed to feel, taste, and smell everything he could get his tiny hands on. A day without crying about something that tasted funny was a day he hadn't truly lived.

"Ah, it's a good thing you came back to Berk, son. The Great Beyond is no place for a babe." Stoick mentions as he brings his attention back to the conversation they are having. He comes to a standstill in front of Hiccup to take another peek at his grandson with a smile.

The boy's origins may not be all that clear, but Stoick finds that he cares little by now. He knows Vigi belongs with Hiccup, with him, and that is all that matters in the end.

"Uh yeah, we came back..." Hiccup repeats after him, not failing to take note of the permanence in Stoick's choice of words.

Viggo has been defeated. The man is dead, fell into the Edge volcano weeks ago. And Dagur, the man they'd left Berk for all those months ago in the first place, is no longer a problem, having switched sides after he let his captured sister, Heather, go and was forced to reflect for months in solitude.

There is no more reason to be on the Edge, but all Hiccup thinks about is all he still wanted to do while he and his friends were there.

But his dad is right, Dragon's Edge is no place for a newborn infant.

Noticing his son's downcast gaze, Stoick speaks up again.

"Ah, Hiccup, I know that there was still much you wanted to do, but your duty lies elsewhere now. It lies with Berk and with your son." To put emphasis on his words, Stoick lays a hand on Vigi's head.

They're not the most reassuring words, but they are words Hiccup needs to hear. The Edge has been fun, but perhaps, it's time to realize that he needs to close this chapter in his life. A new one has already begun.

"Shame it had to end this way, though. We worked so hard to defend it and poured so much of ourselves into that place. All of that effort is for nothing now. I would've preferred to have come back on my own terms." Hiccup admits to as much, sighing.

"Don't you worry about that, we'll avenge it." Despite his stubborn want for Hiccup to never seek satisfaction in revenge, that answer is given surprisingly easily.

"Avenge it?" Hiccup looks up in surprise, jumping up from his position on the stairs.

"Of course! No son of mine gets bullied of his own island. Especially not when it's the place my grandson was born. Aha! Grandson!" He does smile a little at that, shaking his head. Since coming to terms with the fact that he's now a grandfather, Stoick has eagerly taken every opportunity to bellow the word "grandson" for all to hear.

Four days later, Berk hears his cheers with an annoyed, but resigned, sigh and an understanding nod.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Hiccup asks him, but when he does, his father gives him an answer he wasn't quite expecting.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, son, I'll figure something out. Right now, there is something else that I want to discuss." Stoick ends that topic then and there, which is normally a sign that it won't be talked about again until he decides to bring it up.

"And what could be more important than O _ur_ plan to take back the Edge?" Still, Hiccup asks with emphasis on the "our".

"Your son, for one. Shouldn't you be putting him down for his nap?" Not that Tiny isn't already sleeping deeply in the sling, but maybe he can continue that nap in his crib, where he should be.

For a moment, Hiccup isn't sure what to respond. His conversation with Astrid from days ago comes to the forefront of his mind, when he was reluctant to hand his babe over to his friends.

His answer remains the same.

"It's fine, I can hold him." Hiccup briefly looks down at Vigi, occasionally glancing up at his father in slight discomfort.

"This isn't about whether you can hold him or not, Hiccup, this is about you laying that poor boy to rest in his crib. I've seen you carry him with you without putting him down once, you sleep with him in your bed, we haven't seen you in the sky either." Stoick drops down on a nearby chair, facing Hiccup.

It's true, ever since the Dragon Riders' return to Berk, everyone except for Hiccup and Toothless have been seen in the sky.

"Of course, you don't see me fly, Gothi told me to give my body time to recover from the birth." Hiccup informed his father, talking as if that should've been obvious.

Stoick figures that can't technically count as a lie since Gothi did tell him that. Though he had respectfully stepped outside while the elder checked father and child over, he was there to hear her tell them that they were both healthy and okay. He was there when Gothi told Hiccup that he might want to stay off the saddle for a little while, but when has Hiccup ever listened to a word she has said?

If Toothless were here, he'd give his Rider a look, one akin to the one Stoick is giving his heir now.

"Hiccup, you had to take a bath and you insisted on taking him, a week old, with you." He continues, hand waving towards the general direction of the bath house in the village.

That could've been the perfect opportunity to let Vigi be held by someone else for a change. The Gods know how much Stoick, the Riders, Gobber, and the parents of the Riders want to hold that boy in their arms. Even random people on Berk have approached Hiccup with the request to hold Tiny for just a little while, a few minutes.

Hiccup has respectfully declined almost all requests. The only ones he doesn't quite reject are those from his closest loved ones and very hesitantly at that. It doesn't feel good for anyone involved.

"I mean," Hiccup stops there, struggling to find the words while he's normally so talkative. "I do put him down. Occasionally. I just prefer not to."

"And do you have a reason?" Stoick knows what he wants to talk about and he's trying to nudge Hiccup in that direction, even with how clearly he doesn't want to talk about it.

"Other than it's pointless? I have good arms and a good sling! Why leave him in a crib when I can keep him with me?" His son asks, free hand as animated as always. He fails to see how this is such a big problem. The Riders' complaints he can get, but he can't just give Vigi to every single person who asks!

But that isn't what Stoick intends to make him see.

"For one, you're going to make him clingy."

"He's a week old, he depends on me for everything!" Hiccup's protest comes swiftly and pointedly. This confrontation, which was never meant to feel like one, is quickly becoming heated on Hiccup's end. The baby boy stirs in his sling, troubled.

Stoick shakes his head briefly in disappointment, but soon knows which anecdote to give him that might change his mind. No, he's almost certain that it will.

"Hiccup, son, do you remember the Bakersons' son?" He asks.

"The Bakersons' son? of course, I do! I had to watch him whenever his mom went searching for Dragon Island with you and the other warriors and his dad couldn't have him with him in the bakery." Hiccup replies, mood souring even further as he remembers those days.

That dad went through every possible babysitter on Berk until he eventually had no other choice but to trust Hiccup, who was still seen as the Hooligans' resident walking disaster. And it's not like he could've said 'no' either as that would've only made him look even worse than he already did at the time.

When he had to take care of that boy... He becomes stressed just thinking about it. Hiccup had to hold him all the time or he would cry for hours until Hiccup had no other choice but to give in, he couldn't stand to be left alone for the few seconds it took him to use the outhouse, he babbled _Hiccup's_ ears off by constantly repeating everything that boy has said a million times already, and Hiccup may be seeing where his dad is going with this.

Head reeling, he rubs in his eyes.

"You're trying to tell me that Vigi is going to end up as clingy as the Bakersons' son was back then if I keep doing this." He admits out loud.

Vikings, the Hooligans to be specific, aren't overly affectionate unless it involved punching someone in a loving manner. But the Bakersons, they held their son all the time following his birth, the warrior mother even more so because she was gone so often. It had clearly affected the boy greatly if he couldn't be put down without feeling like he was being abandoned.

He's nine now and doing a lot better, but his raising had turned him into a little beast while he was a baby and a toddler.

And Tiny, he could end up the same way if his dad continues down the same path.

But then, what is he to do?

"Exactly." Stoick softly says and then he comes to his earlier question, which Hiccup failed to give an honest answer. "Now, is there a reason you can't put him down?"

Hiccup watches his father uncertainly. Should he say it? Because he does know the reason why, it's the same reason why he's been having nightmares, why this terrible guilt nagged at him in his every waking moment. But can he talk about it with all these feelings weighing him down? He doesn't want to add "feeling like a burden" to that long list.

But when has Hiccup Haddock not been an advocate for talking about your feelings?

"I just," He looks away and Stoick can tell how difficult it is for him to talk. "I didn't know that I was even pregnant with him. I missed nine whole months and-"

"And it weighs heavily on you and now you don't want to miss a single second?" His father asks, interrupting Hiccup mid-sentence.

During their talk about all the missed symptoms, there was also the realization that he never got to feel Tiny move. Or maybe he did and he just never noticed. It was an absolutely painful thing to realize.

There is a mother who is also expectant and just as an experiment, Hiccup had asked her if he could feel her bump and she let him.

It did nothing but make him upset as her soon-to-come child could clearly be felt inside of her and it made him wonder why his case was so different.

But Stoick has managed to get Hiccup to talk about what is truly bothering him and now the words won't stop.

"Yeah. That and because of when he's was brought into the world, just before a battle. And that's not all! Everything that I've been through these past months, he's gone through as well! The bounty, nearly drowning, all those battles, Ryker even punched me in the stomach that one time!" He raises his voice, bordering on growing emotional again. There were so, so many incidents that could've led to him losing a child he didn't even know he had.

Oh Gods, sometimes he thinks about it and it just makes him feel so awful. One time, he even dreamt that he woke up in his bed on a nice, sunny day only to look down at himself to find a pool of blood. It was definitely one of his more horrific nightmares.

Hiccup swallows his emotions back and successfully so.

"I just want to make sure he's safe. Nobody can blame me for that, can they?" He asks, reaching into the sling to rub his son's cheek as he smiles on reflex in his sleep.

He hasn't quite admitted this to anyone yet and that makes his father the first, though many have seen the troubles. It's not easy, but it feels good to finally bring it up to someone.

Cocking his head slightly to the side, Stoick looks at his heir with sympathy.

"Of course, no one can blame you for that, son. But you need to think about how this might effect Vigi. The boy needs to be able to play and learn without feeling like he needs to cling to you always." Hiccup looks at his father as he speaks to him softly and he hears the truth in his words.

For now, it matters little because Tiny is only a week old, but once he's a little older, once he's old enough to understand, Hiccup will only make things difficult for the both of them if he doesn't take a step back.

Seeing that Hiccup realizes this, Stoick decides to talk about someone he's been meaning to bring up ever since Hiccup's rather troubling parenting methods came to light.

"Do you know Jergelson's eldest daughter, Hiccup?"

"Unn? Yeah, of course, I know her. It's kind of hard not to know someone, Berk isn't exactly big." Hiccup replies, shrugging and hand moving. Where is his father going with this?

Unn, Jorgen Jergelson's eldest daughter, is someone who lives near the docks of the village and who is at least three years older than Hiccup. At age 22, she was married and blessed with a baby boy of her own.

Was because... Well...

"You know about the accident, don't you?" Stoick asks and Hiccup nods solemnly.

Who doesn't know? Unn's husband was a fisherman who ended up lost at sea during a storm. The A-team had been sent out to search for him with the Dragon Riders on the Edge, but they came back with nothing. Not even their tracker dragons could find a trace of him.

"Unn had her baby two months ago and she's struggling, too. It's hard as a single mother. And with no more family to speak of, she is truly alone. I thought, maybe you could pay her a visit soon and have a talk with her and you can both find some solace in each other." Stoick suggests hopefully and Hiccup has seen her and her baby around. They've shared pleasantries before, how could they not? Her boy is so adorable.

They haven't only talked in the week since "moving back" to Berk, they've sat down and talked before. Berk isn't a big settlement, it's a village. So naturally, the Dragon Riders and immediate family aren't the only people Hiccup has regular conversations with.

Ironically, their last conversation was about how she was settling into her role as a new mother. At some point, Hiccup had made an off-hand comment about how he could barely handle Snotlout and the twins at the moment and how he would rather wait until his 30s to have kids of his own. His father was that old when he had him, after all.

Life has a sense of humor, apparently.

Hiccup thinks back to that moment now and wonders if anything in his life isn't just the result of him saying or doing something and some higher power deciding to prove him wrong at every turn.

He's pretty sure that's what happened with Toothless. For months, he used to tell everyone unwilling to hear it that he would down a Night Fury and then someone decided "you know what, have a Night Fury!" And everyone knows how that one turned out.

Okay, it all turned out in the end, minus the missing leg. Hopefully, Vigi will, too.

"I'll think about it." But that is Hiccup's answer to Stoick's suggestion to visit Unn for a healing talk. He has enough on his plate for the time being.

"You better, talking with someone who may know what you're dealing with will help. You know this." Stoick tells him and his son nods.

He does know, but talking to his father today has been hard enough. He doesn't want to trouble someone else with his problems, especially not someone who has her own stuff to deal with. That and he just doesn't want to.

Maybe he's just being stubborn.

Having quite enough of this, Hiccup heads to the door. He yearns for a breath of fresh air.

"Son," Stoick sees it and calls to him, Hiccup turning when he's at the door. He feels like they aren't quite done yet.

"I have to go check up on the Riders. They're probably waiting for me at the Academy." Hiccup tells his father, which he supposes isn't a lie. He probably will end up checking on his friends.

Though sighing, Stoick nods.

"Alright, be careful." He tells him and lets him leave.

Hiccup is grateful that he's allowed to step outside and he meets his Night Fury there.

Upon seeing his human leave his home, Toothless perks up from his spot and purrs a greeting his way. He gets up and stretches. He's been waiting out here, just lazying around in the sun. As he should, he deserves a break once in a while.

"Hey Bud," The dragon approaches his Rider as Hiccup returns the greeting. Toothless takes a peek in the sling, purring at the little boy, and Hiccup chuckles.

"If he were awake, I bet he would be happy to see you, too." He tells him, stroking his scaly neck.

"Anyway, feel like searching for the others with me? I'm in need of some fresh air, but I told my dad that I need to see the Dragon Riders." He tells him and Toothless rumbles agreeing. Looks like they're now on a quest to find their friends.

* * *

Life does have a sense of humor, but for once, it is kind and has put the Dragon Riders exactly where Hiccup told his father they would be. Right in the training ring of the former Dragon Academy, pampering the hardworking Dragons.

"TINY!"

Hiccup lets out a sigh as four of the Riders shout joyously the second they notice the three coming down the slope of the gate leading into and out of the ring, but he isn't annoyed. The Dragons, too, greet them happily.

"You guys are insufferable." Hiccup tells them as they all encircle them, but he tells them affectionately.

"You will never stop calling him that, will you?" He asks, referring to the nickname that just refuses to go away.

"We will not, so you better get used to it." Snotlout says as he claps Hiccup on the shoulder and takes a look in the sling.

That Vigi is largely dependent on only one of his parents so far and said parent doesn't live together with any of the others means they don't get to see the baby as much now that they're back on Berk. A shame as they would love to see more of him. So any chance they can get is a good one.

Once he's a little older, that will change and they cannot wait for that day to come.

Hookfang, too, comes over to coo at the boy. He has a soft spot for all things small, especially this little newborn Viking. Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch try to do the same.

For three of the Dragons, this isn't a problem as they are quite large. Meatlug is not so lucky, she struggles and bubbles in distress.

"Aw, Meatlug, it's okay! You'll have plenty of chances to see him." Her human partner reassures her as he comes over to hug her. Meatlug appreciates the comfort greatly.

On the walk over, Vigi has woken up, so why not take him out of his sling and let his friends hold him for a little while? Hiccup will still be right here, so it's okay. It feels a little okayer than last time.

Hiccup takes their son out of the sling and he's almost immediately relieved by Fishlegs.

"Look, Meatlug! Here he is!" He shows the boy to the Gronckle and she rumbles happily, her tail wagging from emotion. Her species is quite dog-like at times.

Hesitantly taking a few steps back, the Dragon Riders close the circle around Tiny and Hiccup finds himself sidelined, running his fingers through his hair.

He does still feel uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, but he's still here and near. If anything happens, he can still interfere.

But he also needs to get used to this. Because his friends have every right to see and hold Tiny just as much as he does and he should allow them to.

Walking away and pushing aside a bucket with his prosthetic, he takes a seat on a nearby crate.

The Dragon Academy has become a bit of a mess since their leave. After it was unofficially disbanded, Hiccup and Toothless kept it clean, but with all of them gone for months, it's not as clean anymore. Maybe he can spend some time cleaning up before he eventually goes back home. There isn't much for him to do at the moment and people don't expect anything from him right now either.

Recover, that's what he's meant to do. But does he need to sit still for that?

Toothless pads over with a murr and noses that same bucket aside for more room. At least Hiccup has his dragon to keep him company for a little while.

"Oooh, I can never get enough of those little handsies and feetsies!" Tuffnut coos, booping the boy's nose and causing him to scrunch up his nose.

"Aw, neither can I!" Astrid agrees with Tuffnut on something for a change, her fists pressed against her round cheeks. They haven't seen her this enthusiastic since she was sleep-deprived during the Midnight Sun.

"Look, he's smiling again!" Snotlout squeaks.

"You know, Gothi actually says those aren't true smiles yet, those take a little while. What Tiny is doing now is purely in response to our voices." Fishlegs informs them, believing this to be a fun little fact. It is amazing how babies act. And not only dragon hatchlings, but human babies, too!

The others don't quite agree as much. Tuffnut and Snotlout look at him, less than impressed with this.

"Do you have to ruin everything, Fishlegs?" Snotlout complains.

"I thought it was an interesting fact." The other timidly responds.

As he's a young and inexperienced healer compared to her, Gothi has told him a lot of stuff since their return to Berk. He was just a tad bit too young to learn much of when his nephews and niece were born, but Vigi is directly related to him. Even if he isn't the biological father, he is still _a_ father.

He wanted to learn as much as he could and as the oldest woman and healer in the village, Gothi knows so much. She has helped birth every single human now on Berk, including all the Riders, including Fishlegs and Hiccup. It would make sense that she would know, she has experienced so many babies and children in her lifetime. And Fishlegs, he drank it all up like it was his first mug of water after spending days in the sun with nothing.

They should all spent some time with Gothi, they could learn a lot from her!

But with most of the Dragons and only four of the Riders distracted, Hiccup lets his gaze fall on Ruffnut, the only other person who isn't involved in the circle. And it's probably his fault.

She sits on a barrel a little ways away and plays with her hair, occasionally glancing at their group of friends and occasionally at Hiccup as well. She looks like she wants to join in, but doesn't.

A lot of things don't hurt someone as confident as Ruffnut Thorston, but some things do and the incident from last week is one of those things. She hasn't been herself ever since, which says a lot.

Hiccup sighs and crosses his arms. He hasn't helped matters much. In any other situation, he would resolve this himself, just like he'd tried to do with Snotlout when Spitelout got to him once again. As the leader, he's kind of expected to.

But in this situation, his overbearing nature towards his son has hurt one of his friends and his inactivity is continuing to hurt her.

Probably sensing his concerns, Astrid joins him, plopping down onto the crate next to him.

"Hey!" She greets him, realizing none of them have really said much specifically to Hiccup. Their attention a tad too focused on a certain little someone.

"Hey, I really messed up with Ruffnut, didn't I?" Hiccup asks, glancing at Astrid before gesturing at their friend.

"Yeah, you did. And badly." As per usual, Astrid isn't telling him softly. If she thinks you did something wrong, you're going to know.

"Should I go talk to her?" Though usually so good at coming up with his own solutions, he asks her what he should do instead.

"Depends. Can you give Ti- I mean, can you give Vigi to someone without looking like you are in physical pain every single time?" She asks him in return. Hiccup averts his gaze, embarrassed by the obvious "no".

"Well then, sorry to be harsh, but no. If you tell her you're sorry and that you do trust her only to refuse her our son again, you're only going to make it worse for both of you." Her words aren't easy to swallow, but they're honest and correct. Making empty apologies now will only hurt Ruffnut more in the long run.

Hiccup sighs and looks back at Ruffnut, wondering how he's going to fix this when he hasn't even fixed himself yet.

Maybe he should go bother this poor woman his father wants him to see.

But then Astrid finds herself staring at Hiccup. Putting a foot on the crate with her, she leans an elbow on her knee. She wears a look of contemplation.

"What?" Naturally, Hiccup notices her staring and he can't help but ask.

"Your hair is curlier." She states.

"What?" Hiccup asks for a repeat, this time sounding surprised. He grabs a lock of his hair as if it's long enough to see these curls Astrid is talking about. Perhaps, his hair has a length to it and is messy, but it's not long enough to see if Astrid's claim has any weight to it.

"I just noticed, your hair is curlier than before. It's barely noticeable, but it's there." Astrid elaborates and runs her fingers through it.

For as long as he's been alive, Hiccup's hair has always had a curve to it at the ends, but those curves seem more pronounced now.

It's because Hiccup has been grounded on Gothi's order, which means his hair isn't as windswept and therefore takes more to its natural shape. That shape is curlier than she remembers.

"Oh yeah, there is a little curl there!" Tuffnut backs her up, having left the little circle, to lean an elbow on Astrid's shoulder. What a delightful discovery, he thinks. He, too, runs a hand through Hiccup's hair.

And Hiccup, meanwhile, is still pulling on his hair in an attempt to see.

Is this another change Vigi has given him? If Gothi didn't ground him, none of them would've ever noticed. He wonders, however, if he was less in the sky on the Edge, would this change have at least turned some heads then? Probably, but not enough to figure out he had a baby on the way.

Hiccup sighs deeply, relieving something he's been holding in. Is it Disappointment? Disappointment in what? It would seem like he can try and try to come up with different ways he could've figured out what the dragons already knew, but in the end, none of them hold up.

It's unpleasant, but after the long talks with his father and thinking endlessly about this, it seems like he'll have to accept that there really was no way he could've known.

* * *

_It's in the middle of the night that Hiccup wakes up again. He hears crying and wants to groan. No matter how much he loves the boy, it's an unpleasant sound to wake up to._

_"I'm-I'm coming, son." He says with a hoarse voice as he sits up, taking after his own father. He manages to get up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before he grabs his metal leg from the floor._

_Pulling it on, he takes a look around his dimly lit room, finding Toothless fast asleep even with the crying. A strange thing, but maybe his Bud is just too tired to wake up. So Hiccup thinks nothing of it and gets up._

_Vigi's crib is here in the room with him and on the way over, Hiccup can't help but think how strangely faraway his son's crying sounds like. It doesn't sound like it's coming from the crib._

_"Vigi? Buddy?" He asks as if the babe is in any way capable of answering and he looks inside to find..._

_Nothing._

_Panic strikes and steals his breath away. Stepping back, it takes him everything not to lose it._

_He's gone. His son is gone!_

_"Toothless! Bud!" He shouts, his hands in his hair, but his dragon doesn't respond._

_He looks over and suddenly, there are several dragonroot darts and arrows stuck in his back. How did he not notice those before? Oh Gods, is his Bud dead?_

_He steps in a puddle, finding a trail of... water? There's a trail of water leading away from the crib and he follows it with his gaze to his stairs._

_There's an awfully familiar chuckling and Hiccup looks down from the loft to find Ryker of all people to be standing there._

_He's drenched in seawater, the smell of salt filling the air as he drips where he stands. His skin is a sickly grey, his veins stand out, and he looks a little bloated. That malevolent smirk is on his face and in his arms? In his arms he holds something small and writhing in a white cloth, wet from being held by Ryker._

_"A life for a life." The former Grimborn says, a waterfall of water seeping past his lips as he speaks._

_"No, Ryker!"_

_The man laughs and leaves through the front door, a blinding light on the other side._

_Hiccup hurries down the stairs, but before he can reach the dead man, the door slams shut._

* * *

"NO!" For the hundredth time that week, Hiccup wakes up in a cold sweat, his tunic and hair clammy and sticking to his skin.

He's upright in bed and breathing heavily, ready to jump into action. His wide eyes quickly roam his moonlit room in search of something. His heart pounding, he shoots up and runs to the crib, taking the sides as he looks into it. He has given up on removing his prosthetic before bed at night.

Though he shouted, Vigi doesn't cry, but he seems to have been startled awake and stares up at his dad with a look that can almost be called confused.

He's still in his crib, exactly where he should be, and Hiccup sags in relief with a moan.

With a questioning rumble, Toothless leaves his stone to join his human. He looks over and into the crib before his gaze moves to Hiccup. His cry woke him up, too.

Hiccup looks back at him before shaking his head.

"It's nothing, Bud." He claims and strokes the flat top of his head, though Toothless knows he's lying. As he pets him, Hiccup checks his neck and back, seeing no darts and no arrows. He's not sure why he expected there to be any.

Since both his best Bud and son appear to be fine, Hiccup picks the latter up from his spot, taking a moment to make sure he's properly wrapped in his furs.

There's no harm in doing so, in keeping him with him. Doesn't matter what his father tried to tell him earlier that day, there's no harm in doing this.

With Vigi back in his arms, where he should be the safest, Hiccup returns to bed.

Toothless sees it and blocks his way with a croon. He thinks differently, nose gesturing back to the crib.

"Toothless..." Unlike Hiccup and despite not knowing how human children are raised, he hasn't paid attention to how Berk raises them until now, he still understands that Stoick simply wants what's best for his progeny, both generations.

He doesn't know what this boy who was so difficult growing up was like, but clearly, Stoick is against raising Tiny the same way. He and Gobber raised Hiccup while Hiccup has only just started out. Doesn't matter how well his Rider previously seemed to handle human children, Hiccup should listen to his father's advice.

Toothless can see how much Hiccup is further draining himself by giving his body and mind very little of the rest that he needs. Maybe it sounds awful to need to take a break from your week old baby, but for him, it's a necessity.

It's only been a week and Toothless has been lead to believe that Tiny isn't the most difficult of babies, yet Hiccup is so tired. It's all stress. Stress and a lack of sleep building on top of a run-down body and spirit. All of which worsens his stress and then in turn worsens his sleep. It's become a cycle that needs to be broken before Hiccup's well-being can take a turn for the worse.

So a little more forceful, Toothless snorts and gestures with his nose to the crib, pawing in its direction as if wanting to point.

"Oh, come on, Bud! I'm the dad, I'm supposed to know what's best, right?" Hiccup tries to convince him. If only he could sound as sure as his words are trying to make him seem.

He walks past Toothless and settles back on his bed, propping the pillow up against the back before he settles.

His eyes following, Toothless watches with a knot in his stomach, knowing his Hiccup is doing wrong, but also understanding where he's coming from as well.

It's more than stress, it's this fear that he suffers from. The dragon has been seeing it ever since Tiny's birth, the suffocating fear of failing his offspring, of losing him like he's almost lost him already several times before even knowing about him.

Humans don't have many babies either. In the three years since the end of the war, more children are surviving past infancy and they're growing up, but Toothless has been informed in the past that most human young don't even reach adulthood on top of them having only one every time. The twins were an outlier and so were Fishlegs' sister's triplets.

So to be able to have only one, Toothless believes this must be a factor, too. Hiccup does seem more relaxed with his offspring in his arms.

"Hey, Buddy." He's whispering to Vigi, who smiles at his words. The boy takes enjoyment from everything in his life.

Toothless finds himself comparing Hiccup's fear with his own of losing his Rider after the many times he has nearly lost him already. And yet, despite their impossibly close bond, this is different. Because Vigi isn't a friend, he's a son. And unlike Hiccup, he can't defend himself either.

But though Toothless gets what motives drive Hiccup, he can't let it continue and he hops up on the bed with a disagreeing low growl.

Hiccup looks at him tiredly.

"Don't tell me you're actually siding with my dad on this? I'll be fine, we'll be fine! Just let me be!" He tells him, lacking the energy to argue with him about it.

"Ah, you're fine, are you? Then I must've imagined you yelling everyone awake a moment ago. Or falling asleep during dinner last night." The two have missed the heavy footsteps climbing, but Stoick enters their room, hastily dressed.

Hiccup's shout really did wake everything up.

Hiccup looks up at his father with dark circles under his eyes. As much as he would dispute Stoick's claim, he can't. It was through his nose's impact with the table that he woke up, head drooping until he'd dozed off completely. Gobber had taken his plate of food out of the way just in time.

Now that he's thinking back to it, his nose is still a little sore.

Stoick approaches and takes a seat on his son's bed just like Toothless, elbows on his knees. He doesn't seem too bothered by having his slumber disrupted.

"Having trouble letting our boy sleep by himself, are we?" He asks gently and all three of them coming to look down at the week-old child. In Hiccup's hold, he blinks slowly, yawning as he's close to falling asleep again. Within another minute or so, Vigi has dozed off again.

Well, Hiccup can't exactly deny this one either, can he? So he doesn't and instead readjusts the furs keeping his son warm.

"Have I told you before that you were born too early, son?" Stoick asks and Hiccup looks back at him. It's not news to him as he's heard that before. It didn't help the whole 'born a runt' thing.

"You were so small, much smaller than little Vigi here. We feared you would break with the slightest touch and your mother, in particular, was very afraid." Stoick reaches for Tiny, strokes the sleeping boy's cheek with the back of his index finger.

"She rarely slept, she had no appetite, she wouldn't put you down for anything, no matter how tired she was. Do you see where I'm going with this?" He asks and Hiccup, not always a fool, nods.

"You're telling me that I'm acting the same way she did?" Hiccup asks in return. His father doesn't talk much about his mother, so even though it's because of something like this, he's still glad to hear more about her.

Stoick nods in confirmation.

"I tried to tell her to calm, to take a step back before she ended up hurting you both. You have her stubbornness, can you tell me what you think happened next?" Hiccup is pretty sure Gobber's told him at least once that both his parents are stubborn, that he was destined to become a stubborn child himself, but what's the point of telling his dad that?

Maybe it seems a little pushy to ask Hiccup to figure it out himself, but if Stoick can get him to think about this, to really think about it, it could help him realize his wrongdoings. And Stoick can tell that he knows, Hiccup is wearing that troubled face.

Hiccup dreads what his father is about to tell him.

"She collapsed, son. She exhausted herself so much that she couldn't take care of you at all. No other mothers were nursing at the time, which meant she put you in danger, too. In her fear of losing you, we almost did lose you." The rest of the story is told and it's as dreadful as he expected.

His breath hitches. He doesn't like this bit of information, doesn't like what his father intends to tell him.

"And if I continue on like this, I'm..." He doesn't need to finish this sentence, they both know what he means.

Because if he continues to exhaust himself, it'll come to the point that Vigi can no longer rely on him either. How can he make up for nine months of neglect if he falls out of the picture for however long it'll take him to recover?

Again he has to ask himself this question... What kind of a father is he?

"You're crying, Hiccup." Stoick notices, watching the tears grow and fall.

"Oh no, again?" His Hiccup groans and wipes at his eyes. He's so tired of crying, but his lack of energy doesn't allow him to rebuild his walls.

At Hiccup's choice of words, Stoick raises an eyebrow.

"Again? Am I right to assume this happens a lot more than I initially thought?" He asks and Hiccup nods in defeat. What's the point of denying to one, too?

"You know that this is a sign, son." Stoick sighs and Hiccup nods. He knows now, he knows.

Hiccup is naturally a sensitive person, but it's difficult to make him cry and he's been doing nothing but.

"I can't let this continue." For the time being, he's on the same page as Stoick.

"Exactly. So, will you visit Unn tomorrow?" Stoick asks and when Hiccup opens his mouth to comment, he continues. "You could _both_ benefit from this, son. You need this."

Sighing and sagging, Hiccup decides to agree, nodding. This time it's not to close off a topic he doesn't like. He understands his dad, understands what his behavior is bound to cause if he doesn't change it soon.

"I'll do better, I have to." When Hiccup makes this promise, Stoick allows himself a smile. He's both proud and relieved that Hiccup sees the error of his ways.

He's a smart boy. Or rather, he's a smart man. Stoick has always had faith in him and that he would see his mistake.

"Good and you can start by getting this lad back to bed." Stoick stands and holds out his hands.

Hiccup regards him with an uncertain look and then back down at his hands. He knows what is expected of him, but he is ready?

Well, it doesn't matter, does it? For the sake of his son, he needs to do this.

it is with a deep frown that he hands Tiny over and the boy's grandfather accepts him. He looks so much smaller in the big man's hold.

Stoick carefully brings the child to his chest and smiles as he takes him back to his crib. Vigi doesn't even notice that he's in someone else's arms, doesn't notice that he's moved or placed back in his little bed. He yawns again and his eyes flutter, but otherwise, he remains peacefully asleep.

As the proud granddad, Stoick takes a moment to stare down at his son's son, his heir's heir, another strong and proud Haddock-to-be.

The naming ceremony will be upon them soon, he can hardly wait.

Stoick the Vast looks back at Hiccup, who's sitting with his knees drawn up and his elbows on them. That face he wears, it's one of guilt, of self-deprecation.

Once upon a time, he had a difficult time reading his son, but he's since come to understand him, come to recognize the many emotions and thoughts swirling inside Hiccup's mind. There were many of them and now he can see which one troubles him now.

Toothless attempts to comfort him, lying down before him with his forelegs on either side. He mews cat-like and nudges his hands.

"Hiccup, son, I don't want you to feel bad about this either," Stoick tells him as he walks back to the bed.

"How can I not? I didn't even know I was pregnant with him and my ignorance put him in danger. Multiple times! And now I know that he's here and I want to do my best, but I still do nothing but hurt him!" Hiccup is frustrated with himself, throwing his hands around before one comes to rest on his stomach.

"A parent is meant to do what they think is best, that's all any parent can do. Now you've made a misstep here and here, but they were all for the sake of the boy. You thought they were for the best." Stoick says and Hiccup glances up at him.

He should know. He has done his best to raise Hiccup, but has made many, _many_ , mistakes in the past. Mistakes he thought were in Hiccup's best interest, but still mistakes. He has acknowledged this and he's worked to change and correct this.

Stoick will never be able to take those misused years back and he regrets this immensely. If he can help Hiccup see the light before he loses years and years, he'll be a happy man.

The mountainous man approaches, comes to drop down onto the bed again. Toothless decides to take a step back to make room and takes a peek at the sleeping baby, rumbling happily. He soon returns to his stone slab.

A large hand settles on Hiccup's knee.

"Listen to me, Hiccup. The boy is fed, he's well-rested, he's changed on time, washed when he needs to be, he's warm, but most important of all, he's loved. And if your worst crime against him is that you hold him for too long, then he's a lucky boy." Stoick reassures him that he doesn't need to feel bad. Hiccup hasn't done any harm and all he has done was with good intention.

"But I know you better than that. I know that this will not sink in yet and I don't expect it to. But promise me that you'll try to make it sink in." Stoick asks of him and Hiccup finds himself nodding. He can try to tell himself the same thing. Right now, he doesn't feel like he'll succeed, but he can try. If not for himself, then for Vigi and for his dad.

"Ah, good man!" Stoick proudly says and claps his heir on the shoulder. Toothless sings happily from his stone, ears perky. Hiccup allows a smile, they're happy that he wants to try.

But it is late and Stoick stands up.

"Can I trust you to go right to sleep and not pick that boy up again?" He asks sternly. "I'll be coming to check up on you two in the morning."

"Okay, good night, dad." Hiccup isn't sure if he'll actually follow up on that, but he wouldn't be entirely surprised either.

With a satisfied nod, Stoick turns to leave.

"Good night, son."

Toothless lets out a rumble.

"Yes, good night, Toothless." Stoick offers him one as well and heads down the stairs. He's always up to help his son, but he's glad he can go back to bed.

"And for Thor's sake, Hiccup, remove your prosthetic! You're safe on Berk, rest your leg." But though the footsteps become softer, his voice does not.

Hiccup huffs.

Yeah, that's an idea. He's been stubborn in wearing it, but his stump has been begging him for a break from it. Maybe it is time he finally gives into it.

So he removes it, placing it down on the floor and it feels like a huge step, because no prosthetic means he can't get up as quick.

But he doesn't pick it back up again. He leaves it there, his stump relieved, and he lies down. Pulling the covers over him, he curls up and only now realizes how cold he's gotten until now.

That reminds him, however, is Vigi warm enough?

Yes. Yes, he is. He's wrapped in his furs and he's sleeping in his crib. He's warm.

Hiccup fights the urge to get back up and hobble over to check. Or to do something far worse, tie his prosthetic back on and pick Vigi back up from his spot.

He's fine, he is just fine. He's warm, his belly is full, he's safe. What more can Hiccup do for him?

Toothless settles back down and dozes off quite easily. For Hiccup, it takes effort to close his eyes and keep them closed. He has to try really hard to fall asleep. It takes him about an hour more in total, but eventually, he succeeds.

* * *

Since his dad's talk with him took place in the middle of the night, Hiccup still hasn't had a full night's sleep. But at the very least, he's had some proper shut-eye for the first time in a week.

So when he leaves for Unn's house late in the morning, he's somewhat better rested, he's eaten, Vigi is strapped to his chest, and they're both ready for another day. Or all three of them as Toothless is with them, naturally.

Chief Stoick is out and about to serve his village in every way he can and Hiccup can face them, too. He's still drained, but he feels like he can go outside for reasons that aren't just "escape to Riders to avoid dad" related.

"Ready for today, Buds?" Hiccup asks both his infant and his dragon, neither of which can answer.

Toothless does make a sound, which is more than Vigi can do at the moment.

Hiccup opens the door out of his home and the three leave.

Overall, Berk's reaction to the surprise baby has been a little mixed so far.

Many of the responses have been mostly positive. Hiccup can't leave the house without someone stopping him to take a peek at the week old. But for every five people wanting to coo at the boy, Hiccup also can't show his face without being told by someone how irresponsible he's been.

Some of the ruder comments have even told him how he should've kept his legs closed and thought about Berk and his future instead of sex before marriage. Like hypocrites! As Hiccup is certain the children of some of them were born just a little too soon after a marriage that was a little too rushed.

The loudest so far, the loudest besides Spitelout, that is, have without a doubt been the Fishersons, a family of farmers. They're one of those couples as everyone knows their wedding a good few years ago was rushed because Mrs. Fisherson started showing.

Now Hiccup doesn't usually care if someone has a baby out of wedlock. He just cares now because they're giving him a hard time for the same reason.

But there is the reality that his low energy and morale has an effect on how he deals with criticism from his people. In any other situation, when he's healthier, Hiccup would've sasses back in defense, but he can't do that anymore. Not even as a young boy has he ever lacked sass as much as he does currently.

So the Riders have done it for him, Toothless has done it for him, the other dragons have done it. Even Stoick, though he walks the fine line between his roles as parent and chief, has rebuffed some of the ruder Vikings.

Amongst the dragon half of Berk's community, their acceptance of Vigi has been nothing but positive.

They don't live by the Viking rule that children are best had within a union and there are therefore no complaints. They see no child out of wedlock, just a child that is Hiccup's. And as he's the figurative bridge between humans and dragons, that makes this little human hatchling extra special to them.

The number of times Hiccup has had to tell them that, no, human babies don't eat pre-digested fish but that their efforts to help are appreciated is very high.

At least it's further proof that adult dragons take care of their offspring communally. Though Fishlegs has been arguing that Vigi could potentially be a special case. If they want to figure this one out, it would be in their best interest to do a survey on a larger scale.

But anyway, Hiccup is on his way to Unn Jergelson.

As her late husband was a fisherman, she, naturally, lives close to the docks. The dirt path created by the feet of many Vikings of several generations throughout their 400 years here on this island makes up most of the paths running throughout the village. When dirt is replaced by wood, they've arrived where the fisher families live.

On his way to Unn's house, Hiccup is stopped at least one more time by someone eager to coo at Tiny, but he makes it.

He knocks on the door of the modest Viking home, not knowing if she's actually home or not. When someone answers, he's not sure if he should be surprised or not.

Unn is a darker-tinted lady with black hair, dark brown eyes, and on the bigger side. Before Astrid Hofferson came of age, she was the most desirable bachelorette around, though she isn't much of a fighter. Hiccup isn't too familiar with her, but he knows she's a weaver.

She has her son, a seven-month-old, on her hip. Her braid is a bit of a mess, probably hastily done by tired hands.

"Hiccup, you're here!" But the thing about being the heir of your village is that everyone knows him. Their community is small enough that everyone knows everyone, but when it comes to Hiccup, there is no question who he is and who's son he is. And since recently, who's father he is. When the woman before him recognizes him, Hiccup isn't surprised about that.

She smiles, both of them standing at either side of the door with a son. And there is a dragon in the home, too, a brownish-greenish Gronckle by the name of Sniffer. She is named this way due to her sometimes troublesome want to stick her nose in everything she finds.

"Um, yeah, I'm here." Hiccup nods, almost forgetting that she's greeted him.

"Your father told me you would be coming by. Come in!" Unn tells him and, of course, Stoick has already talked to her. She steps aside to let him in and Hiccup takes her up on that invitation. Knowing his always present shadow, Unn isn't surprised when Toothless comes right in after him.

It is time for that talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter the tags will be changed a tad! ;D


End file.
